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''Kommunist'' (Russian: Коммунист), named ''Bolshevik'' (Большевик) until 1952, was a
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
journal. The journal was started in 1924. The founders were
Nikolai Bukharin Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin (; rus, Николай Иванович Бухарин, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj ɪˈvanəvʲɪdʑ bʊˈxarʲɪn; – 15 March 1938) was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and Marxist theorist. A prominent Bolshevik ...
, Georgy Pyatakov, and Yevgenia Bosch. It was the official theoretical and political organ of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the Central committee, highest organ of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) between Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Congresses. Elected by the ...
.


History

On January 3, 1924, the newspaper ''
Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, 'Truth') is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most in ...
'' announced the release of the "political and economic" magazine of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (b) as a weekly. The journal started to publish from April 1924. The frequency was once every two weeks. The journal covered issues of Marxist-Leninist theory, the history of the international communist movement and the building of a communist society in the USSR. Articles were published on philosophy, economics, literature and art. After the 19th Party Congress, at which the All-Union Communist Party (b) was renamed to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, in November 1952, the journal was renamed the theoretical and political journal ''Kommunist'', an organ of the Central Committee of the CPSU. From that time, the magazine began to appear every twenty days with a circulation of 600,000 copies. The magazine was renamed ''Svobodnaia Mysl'' (or ''Svobodnaya Mysl'') at the beginning of the 1990s. It is still published, on a monthly basis. The magazine's headquarters are in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
. Vladislav L. Inozemtsev is the
editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...
of the magazine. In 2002 the circulation of ''Svobodnaya Mysl'' was 4,600 copies. While under the name ''Kommunist'', the magazine circulated many more copies with 700,000 copies in 1957, 687,000 copies in 1965, and 707,000 copies in 1966.


Repudiation of "End of Civilization"

In a 1955 issue in response to the ‘end of civilization’ argument, the magazine depicts the widespread belief of an inevitable end of global civilization with a war between the socialists and capitalists as merely a method of "poison ngthe minds of the peoples with fatalism" and promoting a strong sense of pessimism. The propagation of this notion considered to be a means to discourage the rigour in socialists to fight by assuring an inevitable end of the world. This issue also implicitly describes the socialist camp as the "emergent and developing new," and the capitalist camp as the "dying and decomposing old." The magazine reveals an early understanding of the mutually-assured destruction doctrine in the Soviet media and also lashes out against
American Imperialism U.S. imperialism or American imperialism is the expansion of political, economic, cultural, media, and military influence beyond the boundaries of the United States. Depending on the commentator, it may include imperialism through outright mi ...
. This same issue describes socialist countries as democratic and describes the unity of the socialist camp as "unshakeable" due to their working people agreeing on all matters of importance. In 1958, a department of industry and transport was created to advise the editorial board from a professional standpoint on matters involving those two fields.


Polemics against Mao and the People's Republic of China

In 1969, numerous editions of the magazine spoke out against
Maoism Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic o ...
and the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. The magazine critiqued
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...
for using his ideology to justify the "self-seeking aims" of the "Mao Zedong group". Maoism is depicted as "hostile to
Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...
," and the objectives in the international arena of the Mao Zedong group are depicted as chauvinistic and hegemonic. Issue no.7 (1969) extensively discussed the efforts made by the "Mao Zedong group" to resist Soviet attempts to strengthen their friendship and trade. Conclusively, Mao’s regime is depicted in the 1969 issues as prioritizing nationalism and drifting away from Marxism and Leninism. Issue no.5 (1969) also made accusations against
Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
and
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
for colluding with Mao Zedong and his associates in establishing a beachhead in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
for potential military activity, including the potential placement of nuclear missiles in Albania. This issue also cites a relaxation in trade sanctions from capitalist states as grounds for their claims alongside the growth in trade with West Germany.


Editors-in-Chief

*
Nikolai Bukharin Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin (; rus, Николай Иванович Бухарин, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj ɪˈvanəvʲɪdʑ bʊˈxarʲɪn; – 15 March 1938) was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and Marxist theorist. A prominent Bolshevik ...
(1924–1929) * Vilhelm Knorin (1930–1934) * Aleksei Stetsky (1934–1938) * Konstantin Kuzakov (1940–1945) * Pyotr Fedoseev (1945–1949) * (1949–1952) * Dmitry I. Chesnokov (1952–1953) * Aleksei Rumyantsev (1954–1958) * Fyodor Konstantinov (1958–1962) * (1962–1965) * (1965–1974) * Viktor G. Afanasiev (1974–1976) * Richard Kosolapov (1976–1986) * (1986–1987) * (1987–1991)


References

{{Reflist


External links


Presentation of the newspapers at marxists.orgWorldCat RecordThe Current Digest of the Russian Press
formerly ''The Current Digest of the Soviet Press'' and ''The Current Digest of the Post-Soviet Press'' 1924 establishments in the Soviet Union Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Publications of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Magazines established in 1924 Marxist magazines Mass media in Moscow Magazines published in the Soviet Union Russian-language magazines Political magazines published in Russia