MIA > Archive > Riazanov > Plekhanoc/ELG
The pamphlet now being republished was written in 1901 and first printed in the underground Social-Democratic almanac for 1902, at a time when the ‘Emancipation of Labour’ Group still formed a united whole. But even then, it was already clear that, in its old form, it could not continue to exist. Therefore, the group’s act of self-dissolution in 1903 was merely a formality.
With Plekhanov’s death, the most outstanding member of this group – who had once been the defining figure in both its international and national significance – departed the scene. Yet however great his role in the history of the ‘Emancipation of Labour’ group may have been, historians must nevertheless acknowledge the active collaboration of G.V. Plekhanov’s other comrades in the group – particularly P.B. Axelrod – in its most significant statements, whether purely programmatic or tactical.
We therefore provide in the appendix not only brief biographical details of all the founding members of the group and a list of its publications, but also all the draft programmes and declarations of principle – many of which are great bibliographical rarities – in which the various phases of the ideological development of the ‘Emancipation of Labour’ Group crystallised chronologically.
In place of an introduction, we include the article In Memory of G.V. Plekhanov, written for the organ of the Petrograd Council of Trade Unions.
June 1918
Last updated on 11 October 2026