Vladimir Akimov was the leading spokesman for the 'Economists' in Russia in the early twentieth century. This group of Marxists rebelled in 1898 against Plekkanov, causing within the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party a schism which preceded the major split between the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks in 1903. The two major works of Akimov included in this edition have not been republished since 1969. The first is an analysis of the Party Programme inspired by Plekkanov and Lenin as editors of Iskra. The second is a history of the Russian Marxist movement from the early 1890s to Akimov's day. This was the first history of the movement ever published. Dr Frankel has annotated the texts and provided an important introduction, tracing in general terms the development of Russian Marxism up to 1898 and describing in greater detail the forces which caused the dispute between Plakkanov and Lenin and the 'Economists'.
