Vladimir Bazarov

Vladimir Alexandrovich Bazarov adopted his revolutionary pseudonym from the nihilist character in Ivan Turgenev's novel Fathers and Sons.

Early Political Radicalism

Born to a nobleman and doctor, Bazarov enrolled at the natural sciences faculty of Moscow University in 1892. By 1896, he engaged in revolutionary politics, which eventually led to his expulsion. Operating under his chosen alias, he collaborated with Alexander Bogdanov and Ivan Skvortsov-Stepanov in Tula to organize secret schools for local workers. In 1899, he emigrated to Berlin, where he founded the Neutral Group of Social-Democrats to mediate disputes between Marxist factions.

Bolshevik Participation and Philosophical Conflict

Upon returning to Russia in 1901, Bazarov served on the Moscow Social Democratic Committee before facing exile in Siberia. He joined the Bolshevik faction in 1904, serving on the editorial board of the newspaper Rabochii put'. During this period, he partnered with Bogdanov and Skvortsov-Stepanov to produce a Russian-language translation of Karl Marx’s Capital. His shift toward the empirical-criticism of Ernst Mach and Richard Avenarius prompted a public rift with Lenin, who targeted him in his 1909 work, Materialism and Empirio-criticism.

Economic Planning and Gosplan

Following the 1917 revolution, Bazarov moved to Kharkov and later joined the State Planning Commission in 1922. Partnering with Vladimir Groman, he helped establish the methodology for Soviet industrial planning. In 1923, he articulated the necessity for central economic oversight despite the implementation of the New Economic Policy. Together, they developed the theory of the leveling-off curve, which predicted that initial rapid industrial growth would decelerate as an economy reached its full productive capacity.

Fast facts

• Born: 1874, Tula
• Died: 1939, Moscow
• Education: Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, Moscow Imperial University
• Notable Work: Translation of Capital by Karl Marx
• Political Faction: Bolshevik (1904-1909)
• Key Agency: State Planning Commission (Gosplan)
• Pseudonym Origin: Turgenev's Fathers and Sons

Questions readers ask

What was Bazarov's role in Soviet economic planning?

He worked for the State Planning Commission, where he developed central planning procedures and the theory of the leveling-off curve.

Why did Lenin criticize Bazarov?

Bazarov rejected formulaic dialectical materialism in favor of empirical-criticism, leading Lenin to write a polemic against him in 1909.

Achievements

• Held posts at Lomonosov Moscow State University
• Fields: philosophy