Vladimir Petrovich Makhnovets (Russian: Владимир Петрович Махновец; 7 September 1872 – 15 November 1921), also known as Akimovhe, was a leader of the Russian Social-Democrats. He was born in 1872 in Vorornezh and studied in Saint Petersburg. In 1890, Akimov participated in revolutionary groups: first with the

Narodnik The Narodniks (russian: народники, ) were a politically conscious movement of the Russian intelligentsia in the 1860s and 1870s, some of whom became involved in revolutionary agitation against tsarism. Their ideology, known as Narodism, ...

, then the League of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class. He was arrested and deported to Siberia in April 1898. In September 1898, he escaped and fled to Geneva. There he joined the Union of Russian Social Democrats Abroad and became one of the editors of its magazine Rabocheye Delo. Akimov then formed a faction opposed to the group that would soon establish the '' Iskra'' newspaper, with

Georgi Plekhanov Georgi Valentinovich Plekhanov (; rus, Гео́ргий Валенти́нович Плеха́нов, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj vəlʲɪnˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ plʲɪˈxanəf, a=Ru-Georgi Plekhanov-JermyRei.ogg; – 30 May 1918) was a Russian revoluti ...

and Vladimir Lenin. Along with

Aleksandr Martynov Aleksandr Martynov may refer to: *Aleksandr Martynov (Russian politician) (1865–1935), member of the Menshevik movement *Aleksandr Martynov (Transnistrian politician) Aleksandr Martynov or Alexandr Martynov (born 1 January 1981) is a Transnistr ...

, he represented the Economist trend at the Second Congress (1903). His faction was defeated at the congress by the majority of the ''Iskra''. However, as the majority split between Bolsheviks and Mensheviks, his faction joined forces with the Mensheviks of

Martov Julius Martov or L. Martov (Ма́ртов; born Yuliy Osipovich Tsederbaum; 24 November 1873 – 4 April 1923) was a politician and revolutionary who became the leader of the Mensheviks in early 20th-century Russia. He was arguably the closes ...

. In the following years he aligned with the right-wing of the Mensheviks. He returned illegally to England in 1905 during the revolution and joined the Cordwainer trade union, which enabled him to participate in the Saint Petersburg Soviet. At the fourth Congress of the party (1906), Akimov spoke against an armed uprising and, in general, opposed insurrection as a means of achieving socialism. Instead, he stated that the social-democrats should support the liberals ( Cadets) in the elections for the

State Duma The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house ...

. He maintained this position in the

1912 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1912. Asia * 1912 Chinese National Assembly election (first election for the newly founded National Assembly of the Republic of China) * 1912 Philippine Assembly elections Europe * 1912 German federal ...

and was criticized by other militants, like Lenin. In 1911, he was jailed for his text "Cutting Heads", which was published in 1908. However, he was successful in escaping exile. He returned to Russia after the 1913 amnesty. He died in Zenigorod (Moscow oblast) in November 1921. The two major works of Akimov have not been republished since 1969.

Works

Vladimir Akimov on the Dilemmas of Russian Marxism 1895-1903
Cambridge University Press, 19420.

Sources

Vladimir Makhnovets notice
on France archives

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Makhnovets, Vladimir Mensheviks 1872 births 1921 deaths English socialists People from Voronezh Revolutionaries from the Russian Empire Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom