Sergei Prokopovich
Encyclopedia
Sergei Nikolaevich Prokopovich was a Russian economist, sociologist, 'Revisionist' Social-Democrat and liberal politician.
') ideas, but by 1894 he had embraced Marxism
. In 1895 he went to study in Western Europe, graduating from the University of Brussels in 1899. During that period Prokopovich joined the 'Union of Russian Social-Democrats Abroad', one of the groups from which the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' Party (RSDRP) emerged. Under the influence of the German Revisionist Social-Democrat Eduard Bernstein
, the British Fabians, French Possibilism and the emerging Russian trade union movement, Prokopovich and his wife, E.D. Kuskova (1869–1958), moved away from 'orthodox' Marxism toward a position their critics (Georgi Plekhanov
, Lenin and others) criticised as 'Economism
'. In fact, these critics used the term 'Economism' rather loosely and also applied it to revolutionary syndicalist currents within the Social-Democratic party. Peshekhonov's thesis was basically that, since the coming revolution would (according to 'orthodox' Marxism) be 'bourgeois-democratic, the struggle for political emancipation should be led by, and largely left to, the bourgeoisie, while the Russian working class should concentrate on organising itself economically and winning social and economic improvements.
The 'Economist' controversy in Russian Social-Democracy was quite vehement and in some ways foreshadowed the later split between Bolsheviks and Mensheviks (not all Mensheviks were former 'Economists', but many were). The dispute can also be seen as part of the controversy over Revisionism and Possibilism which raged in European Marxist parties around the turn of the century.
By 1899 Prokopovich and Kuskova had left the RSDRP. They became involved in organising Russia's nascent liberal movement. In 1904 they helped found the 'Union of Liberation
' from which the Constitutional-Democratic Party
(KDP) sprang, together with other former Marxits like P.B. Struve and 'Legal Populists' like A.V. Peshekhonov
. From different points of departure, all had arrived at the conclusion that, in Russia's present state of history, the bourgeoisie should take the lead in the political struggle against tsarism. Prokopovich nevertheless continued to sympathize with the labour movement and, beginning in 1900, published several noteworthy studies on the labour movements of Russia and Western Europe.
In 1904 Prokopovich co-founded the liberal newspaper Our Life (Nasha zhin). During the Revolution of 1905 he was briefly arrested. He hlped organise the 'Union of Unions' and briefly served on th central committee of the KDP. However, he was dissatisfied by the Great Russian national chauvinism of such colleagues as Pavel Miliukov, the romantic populism of people like Annensky
, Peshekhonov
and Miakotin
and the party's scant interest in labour issues. He remained without party affiliation. During the next few years he wrote some novels and copious articles on economic and sociological topics. He and Kuskova also edited the journal Bez zaglaviia. In addition, they were active in the co-operative movement. During the First World War Prokopovich was a 'Defencist
'.
In 1917 Prokopovich and Kuskova welcomed the February Revolution
and re-joined the Menshevik Social-Democratic party. Prokopovich held several ministerial portfolios in the Kenrensky
government. He opposed the October Revolution
and briefly tried to lead an anti-Bolshevik government in Moscow. This was quickly dispersed. In 1921, Prokopovich devoted himself to famine relief. The contacts to American and Western European aid agencies he forged in this capacity were later held against him, and in 1922 he was expelled from the Soviet Union. In exile he published the journals, including Ekonomicheskii sbornik (Economic Review) and Russkii ekonomicheskii sbornik (Russian Economic Review). In 1939, as the Second World War broke out, Prokopovich and Kuskova moved to Switzerland, where he died in 1955.
Life
Prokopovich was born into a noble family in Tsarskoe Selo in 1871. In the early 1890s he became involved in radical student politics and was at first attracted to populist ('narodnikNarodnik
Narodniks was the name for Russian socially conscious members of the middle class in the 1860s and 1870s. Their ideas and actions were known as Narodnichestvo which can be translated as "Peopleism", though is more commonly rendered "populism"...
') ideas, but by 1894 he had embraced Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
. In 1895 he went to study in Western Europe, graduating from the University of Brussels in 1899. During that period Prokopovich joined the 'Union of Russian Social-Democrats Abroad', one of the groups from which the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' Party (RSDRP) emerged. Under the influence of the German Revisionist Social-Democrat Eduard Bernstein
Eduard Bernstein
Eduard Bernstein was a German social democratic theoretician and politician, a member of the SPD, and the founder of evolutionary socialism and revisionism.- Life :...
, the British Fabians, French Possibilism and the emerging Russian trade union movement, Prokopovich and his wife, E.D. Kuskova (1869–1958), moved away from 'orthodox' Marxism toward a position their critics (Georgi Plekhanov
Georgi Plekhanov
Georgi Valentinovich Plekhanov was a Russian revolutionary and a Marxist theoretician. He was a founder of the Social-Democratic movement in Russia and was one of the first Russians to identify himself as "Marxist." Facing political persecution, Plekhanov emigrated to Switzerland in 1880, where...
, Lenin and others) criticised as 'Economism
Economism
Economism is a term used to describe economic reductionism, that is the reduction of all social facts to economical dimensions. It is also used to criticize economics as an ideology, in which supply and demand are the only important factors in decisions, and outstrip or permit ignoring literally...
'. In fact, these critics used the term 'Economism' rather loosely and also applied it to revolutionary syndicalist currents within the Social-Democratic party. Peshekhonov's thesis was basically that, since the coming revolution would (according to 'orthodox' Marxism) be 'bourgeois-democratic, the struggle for political emancipation should be led by, and largely left to, the bourgeoisie, while the Russian working class should concentrate on organising itself economically and winning social and economic improvements.
The 'Economist' controversy in Russian Social-Democracy was quite vehement and in some ways foreshadowed the later split between Bolsheviks and Mensheviks (not all Mensheviks were former 'Economists', but many were). The dispute can also be seen as part of the controversy over Revisionism and Possibilism which raged in European Marxist parties around the turn of the century.
By 1899 Prokopovich and Kuskova had left the RSDRP. They became involved in organising Russia's nascent liberal movement. In 1904 they helped found the 'Union of Liberation
Union of Liberation
The Union of Liberation was a liberal political group founded in St. Petersburg, Russia in January 1904. Its goal was originally the replacement of the absolutism of the Tsar with a constitutional monarchy...
' from which the Constitutional-Democratic Party
Constitutional Democratic party
The Constitutional Democratic Party was a liberal political party in the Russian Empire. Party members were called Kadets, from the abbreviation K-D of the party name...
(KDP) sprang, together with other former Marxits like P.B. Struve and 'Legal Populists' like A.V. Peshekhonov
Alexey Peshekhonov
Alexey Vasilyevich Peshekhonov was a Russian economist, publicist, and statistician. He was a member of the Russian provisional government as a minister of food supplies for some months in the summer of 1917.- Life :Peshekhonov was a self-educated social activist...
. From different points of departure, all had arrived at the conclusion that, in Russia's present state of history, the bourgeoisie should take the lead in the political struggle against tsarism. Prokopovich nevertheless continued to sympathize with the labour movement and, beginning in 1900, published several noteworthy studies on the labour movements of Russia and Western Europe.
In 1904 Prokopovich co-founded the liberal newspaper Our Life (Nasha zhin). During the Revolution of 1905 he was briefly arrested. He hlped organise the 'Union of Unions' and briefly served on th central committee of the KDP. However, he was dissatisfied by the Great Russian national chauvinism of such colleagues as Pavel Miliukov, the romantic populism of people like Annensky
Nikolai Annensky
Nikolai Feodorovich Annensky was a Russian economist, statistician and politician. He was a member of the populist movement and the Socialist-Revolutionary Party before becoming one of the founders of the Russian Popular Socialist Party in 1906.-Biography:Annensky was born in St. Petersburg and...
, Peshekhonov
Alexey Peshekhonov
Alexey Vasilyevich Peshekhonov was a Russian economist, publicist, and statistician. He was a member of the Russian provisional government as a minister of food supplies for some months in the summer of 1917.- Life :Peshekhonov was a self-educated social activist...
and Miakotin
Venedikt Miakotin
Venedikt Aleksandrovich Miakotin was a Russian historian and narodnik politician.-Life:V.A. Miakotin was born in Gatchina and educated at the Kronstadt gymnasium and the University of Saint Petersburg, where he studied history and philology. He subsequently became a professor of history at Saint...
and the party's scant interest in labour issues. He remained without party affiliation. During the next few years he wrote some novels and copious articles on economic and sociological topics. He and Kuskova also edited the journal Bez zaglaviia. In addition, they were active in the co-operative movement. During the First World War Prokopovich was a 'Defencist
Internationalist/Defencist Schism
The terms 'Internationalist' and 'Defencist' were commonly used to describe the broad opposing camps in the international socialist movement during and shortly after the First World War. Prior to 1914, anti-militarism had been an article of faith among most European socialist parties...
'.
In 1917 Prokopovich and Kuskova welcomed the February Revolution
February Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
and re-joined the Menshevik Social-Democratic party. Prokopovich held several ministerial portfolios in the Kenrensky
Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky was a major political leader before and during the Russian Revolutions of 1917.Kerensky served as the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government until Vladimir Lenin was elected by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets following the October Revolution...
government. He opposed the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
and briefly tried to lead an anti-Bolshevik government in Moscow. This was quickly dispersed. In 1921, Prokopovich devoted himself to famine relief. The contacts to American and Western European aid agencies he forged in this capacity were later held against him, and in 1922 he was expelled from the Soviet Union. In exile he published the journals, including Ekonomicheskii sbornik (Economic Review) and Russkii ekonomicheskii sbornik (Russian Economic Review). In 1939, as the Second World War broke out, Prokopovich and Kuskova moved to Switzerland, where he died in 1955.
Works
- K rabochemu voprosu v Rossii. St. Petersburg, 1905.
- Biudzhety peterburgskikh rabochikh. St. Petersburg, 1909.
- Agrarnyi krizis i meropriiatiiapravitel’stva. Moscow, 1912.
- Kooperativnoe dvizhenie v Rossii: Ego teoriia ipraktika, 2nd ed. Moscow, 1918.