Boris Nicolaevsky
Encyclopedia
Boris Ivanovich Nicolaevsky (1887-1966) was a revolutionary
Russia
n Marxist
activist, archivist, and historian. Nicolaevsky is best remembered as one of the leading Menshevik
public intellectuals of the 20th Century.
, Bashkiria, then part of the Russian empire
.
Nicolaevsky became a member of the Menshevik
wing of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party when he was still a youth. He was subsequently arrested eight times and sent into Siberian
exile three times by the Tsarist
government.
, Nicolaevsky became the head of the Marx-Engels Institute in Moscow
.
As an active Menshevik, Nicolaevsky was arrested by the Soviet secret police in 1921 and deported from Soviet Russia
in 1922. He subsequently moved to Berlin
, where he was associated with the Marx-Engels Institute there, before becoming the director of the International Institute of Social History
in Amsterdam
, repository of the archives of the Socialist International
.
Many individuals of all political complexions confided their archival treasures to him. The failed negotiations over the Soviet
offer to purchase the Marx
-Engels
Archive and the politically motivated theft from Nicolaevsky's office of Leon Trotsky
's archives affected him greatly in 1936. His extensive collection of revolutionary documents is now held by the Hoover Institution
Archives in Palo Alto, California
.
Nicolaevsky is the author of the book Karl Marx: Man and Fighter, first published in German
in 1933. It was translated into English by Otto Mänchen-Helfen and published in 1936. Some subsequent English editions restore the notes, appendices, and bibliography omitted from the first English edition.
Nicolaevsky emigrated to the United States in 1942, where he remained until his death, lecturing at various American universities and serving as the curator of the Hoover Institution Archives.
Nicolaevsky also wrote "Forced Labor in Soviet Russia", with David J. Dallin, published in 1948, which was one of the first books to give a truthful and documented account of the scale of the USSR's labour camp system.
His other works included Power and the Soviet Elite and Aseff the Spy. He also wrote an essay "On the History of the Bolshevik Centre" and an unfinished biography of Georgy Malenkov
.
. He was 78 years old at the time of his death.
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Marxist
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...
activist, archivist, and historian. Nicolaevsky is best remembered as one of the leading Menshevik
Menshevik
The Mensheviks were a faction of the Russian revolutionary movement that emerged in 1904 after a dispute between Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov, both members of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party. The dispute originated at the Second Congress of that party, ostensibly over minor issues...
public intellectuals of the 20th Century.
Early years
Boris Nicolaevsky was born October 20, 1887 N.S. in BelebeyBelebey
Belebey is a town in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, located on the bank of the Usen River, from Ufa. Population: .-Demographics:Ethnic composition: Russian people: 46.9%; Tatar people: 23.6%; Chuvash people: 12%; Bashkir people: 11%....
, Bashkiria, then part of the Russian empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
.
Nicolaevsky became a member of the Menshevik
Menshevik
The Mensheviks were a faction of the Russian revolutionary movement that emerged in 1904 after a dispute between Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov, both members of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party. The dispute originated at the Second Congress of that party, ostensibly over minor issues...
wing of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party when he was still a youth. He was subsequently arrested eight times and sent into Siberian
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
exile three times by the Tsarist
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
government.
Political areer
Following the Russian Revolution of 1917Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
, Nicolaevsky became the head of the Marx-Engels Institute in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
As an active Menshevik, Nicolaevsky was arrested by the Soviet secret police in 1921 and deported from Soviet Russia
Soviet Russia
Soviet Russia usually refers to the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, one of the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union. It may also denote:* Soviet Russia , magazine of the Friends of Soviet Russia in the United States...
in 1922. He subsequently moved to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, where he was associated with the Marx-Engels Institute there, before becoming the director of the International Institute of Social History
International Institute of Social History
The International Institute of Social History is a historical research institute in Amsterdam. It was founded in 1935 by Nicolaas Posthumus. The IISG is part of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences....
in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, repository of the archives of the Socialist International
Socialist International
The Socialist International is a worldwide organization of democratic socialist, social democratic and labour political parties. It was formed in 1951.- History :...
.
Many individuals of all political complexions confided their archival treasures to him. The failed negotiations over the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
offer to purchase the Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
-Engels
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels was a German industrialist, social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of Marxist theory, alongside Karl Marx. In 1845 he published The Condition of the Working Class in England, based on personal observations and research...
Archive and the politically motivated theft from Nicolaevsky's office of Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
's archives affected him greatly in 1936. His extensive collection of revolutionary documents is now held by the Hoover Institution
Hoover Institution
The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace is a public policy think tank and library founded in 1919 by then future U.S. president, Herbert Hoover, an early alumnus of Stanford....
Archives in Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
.
Nicolaevsky is the author of the book Karl Marx: Man and Fighter, first published in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
in 1933. It was translated into English by Otto Mänchen-Helfen and published in 1936. Some subsequent English editions restore the notes, appendices, and bibliography omitted from the first English edition.
Nicolaevsky emigrated to the United States in 1942, where he remained until his death, lecturing at various American universities and serving as the curator of the Hoover Institution Archives.
Nicolaevsky also wrote "Forced Labor in Soviet Russia", with David J. Dallin, published in 1948, which was one of the first books to give a truthful and documented account of the scale of the USSR's labour camp system.
His other works included Power and the Soviet Elite and Aseff the Spy. He also wrote an essay "On the History of the Bolshevik Centre" and an unfinished biography of Georgy Malenkov
Georgy Malenkov
Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov was a Soviet politician, Communist Party leader and close collaborator of Joseph Stalin. After Stalin's death, he became Premier of the Soviet Union and was in 1953 briefly considered the most powerful Soviet politician before being overshadowed by Nikita...
.
Death and legacy
Nicolaevsky died February 21, 1966 in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He was 78 years old at the time of his death.
Further reading
- Ladis K. D. Kristof: Russian Review, Vol. 25, No. 3 (Jul 1966), pp. 324-327. JSTOR link
External links
- Biography, photo (in Russian)