The Russian Origins: Lenin

Abstract

What was said in the preceding chapter about the sociological and economic method, applies fully to the Russian sources of Dialectical Materialism. Let it be noted that in such an investigation one often meets with nonsensical explanations of relationships. It is, for instance, clearly absurd to speak of the ‘Asiatic’ character of Communism. There is neither a uniform ‘Asiatic’ character nor an ‘Asiatic’ culture; many very different cultures exist in Asia. Any attempt to stress the ‘Slavic’ character must overlook the important fact that the Slavic peoples are divided, by their cultures, into two extremely different groups: the Western and the Eastern Slavs. So significant is this division that the only link between the two groups is the considerable resemblance between their languages. It is equally absurd to speak of a Russian ‘race’, for there is no such thing. Modern nations are identifiable, not because they belong to a certain race, but because they have a certain culture which is conditioned by history. Whoever wants to obtain a clear picture of the phenomena under discussion must refrain from such simplifications.