Mark Borisovich Mitin (; 5 July 1901 – 15 January 1987) was a Soviet Marxist–Leninist philosopher, university lecturer and Professor of Philosophy Faculty of

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

(1964–1968, 1978–1985). He was interested primarily

dialectical Dialectic (; ), also known as the dialectical method, refers originally to dialogue between people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to arrive at the truth through reasoned argument. Dialectic resembles debate, but the c ...

and

historical materialism Historical materialism is Karl Marx's theory of history. Marx located historical change in the rise of Class society, class societies and the way humans labor together to make their livelihoods. Karl Marx stated that Productive forces, techno ...

, the

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

of history and criticism of bourgeois philosophy.

Biography

He came from a Jewish working-class family. Mitin became a member of the

Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

in 1919. In the years 1925-1929 he studied philosophy at the

Institute of Red Professors The Institute of Red Professors of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) () was an institute of graduate-level education in the Marxist social sciences located in the Orthodox Convent of the Passion, Moscow. History It was founded in February 1 ...

, which had the responsibility for educating a new Soviet intelligentsia. In the years 1939-1961 he was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and during the period 1950-1962 deputy of the

Supreme Soviet The Supreme Soviet () was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). These soviets were modeled after the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, establ ...

of the USSR. From 1939, for five years he was director of the

Institute of Marxism–Leninism An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

of the CPSU Central Committee. From 1944 to 1950 he served on the editorial board of the journal ''

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

'' (''Большевик''). From 1950 to 1956 he worked in Bucharest as the editor-in-chief of the official newspaper of the Cominfirm, ''

For a Lasting Peace, for a People's Democracy! ''For a Lasting Peace, for a People's Democracy!'' was the press organ of the Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties (Cominform). The first issue was published on 1 November 1947 from the Yugoslav capital Belgrade. Due to the ...

''. From 1960 to 1968, Mitin was the editor-in-chief of the journal '' Problems of Philosophy''. He was deputy Academician-Secretary of the Department of Philosophy and Law of the

Soviet Academy of Sciences The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991. It united the country's leading scientists and was subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (un ...

(1963–1967), worked at the Institute of Sociology of the Academy of Sciences (1968–1970) and headed a sector at the

Institute of State and Law The Institute of State and Law (ISL) of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) (''Russian'': Институт государства и права Российской академии наук (ИГП РАН)) is the largest scientific legal c ...

of the Academy of Sciences (1970–1985). Mitin died in January 1987 and was buried at the

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery () is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. History The cemetery was designed by Ivan Mashkov and inaugurated ...

in Moscow.

New philosophy

In the 1920s a debate raged within Soviet Dialectical Materialism between the Mechanists and the Dialecticians of the

Deborin Abram Moiseyevich Deborin (Ioffe) (; , Upyna, Kovno Governorate – 8 March 1963, Moscow) was a Soviet Marxist philosopher and academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union (1929). Deborin oscillated between The Bolshevik and Menshevik ...

School. Deborin was initially victorious, but he was criticized by Mitin for "

Menshevizing idealism Menshevizing idealism, also known as menshevistic idealism (), is a term that was widely used in Soviet Marxist literature and referred to the errors committed in philosophy by Abram Deborin’s group. The term was coined by Joseph Stalin in 1930. ...

." Mitin led the Red Professors in ousting Deborin. Mitin insisted that Deborin lacked Party Spirit and did not recognize the unity of theory and praxis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitin, Mark 1901 births 1987 deaths 20th-century Russian philosophers Politicians from Zhytomyr Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Institute of Red Professors alumni Third convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Fourth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Fifth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Members of the Central Committee of the 18th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) Members of the Central Committee of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Members of the Central Committee of the 22nd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the October Revolution Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Stalin Prize Marxist theorists Materialists Russian historians of philosophy Russian Marxists Soviet Marxist historians Soviet philosophers Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery