Alexander Bogdanov

Bogdanov in 1904.
Born	August 22, 1873(1873-08-22) Sokółka, Grodno Governorate, Russian Empire (now Poland)
Died	April 7, 1928(1928-04-07) (aged 54) Moscow, Soviet Union

Bogdanov playing chess with Lenin during a visit to Gorky on Capri, Italy, April 1908.

Alexander Aleksandrovich Bogdanov (Александр Александрович Богданов; born Alyaksandr Malinovsky, Belarusian: Алякса́ндр Алякса́ндравіч Маліно́ўскі) was a physician, philosopher, utopian fiction writer, economist, culture theorist, and revolutionary of Belarusian ethnicity.

The polymath Bogdanov received training in medicine and psychiatry. His scientific interests ranged from the universal systems theory to the possibility of human rejuvenation through blood transfusion. He invented an original philosophy called tektology, now regarded as a forerunner of systems theory.

He was a key figure in the early history of the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party, joining it in 1903 but expelled in 1909 after leading the ultra-left, boycottist (or ultimatist) tendency. He maintained that the party could only work through illegal organizations (due to the suppression of political parties during this period).

After 1911, he drifted from political activism to writing on philosophy, culture, and economics. Served as an Army doctor in WWI. He did not rejoin the Party, but after the October Revolution, he became an organizer of Proletkult. After 1921, he left politics to work in the field of science while remaining a widely respected figure of Old Bolshevism. He died in April 1928 while experimenting with blood transfusions. [1]

Bibliography

By Bogdanov

(in Russian unless noted)

Non-fiction

A Short Course of Economics Science [1897], 1923. Download.

Tektologiya, Tom 1, 1913/1989. Download, Tom 2.

Essays in Tektology, 1980. Download.

Essays in Tektology, 2nd ed., 1984. Download.

Bogdanov’s Tektology, Book 1, 1996. Download.

Books and Pamphlets

• Kratkiy kurs ekonomicheskoy nauki [Краткий курс экономической науки], Moscow: A. Murinovoy, 1897, 290 pp; 2nd ed., St. Petersburg: Dorovatovskiy and Charushnikov, 1899, 290 pp; 6th ed., Moscow, 1905, 294 pp; 10th ed., Moscow: Gosizdat, 1920, 318 pp; 15th ed., Moscow: Gosizdat, 1924, 364 pp.
  • Krotki wykled economji politycznej, Warsaw: Biblioteka Naukowa, 1905, 414 pp. (in Polish)
  • Zarys nauki economji politycznej trans. J.W. David (of 6th ed.), Warsaw: Raabe, 1906, 282 pp. (in Polish)
  • Lühikene majandusteaduse õpetus, Tartu: Noor-Eesti, 1907, 392 pp. (in Estonian)
  • Armenian trans., Tiflis, 1907, 368 pp.
  • Gruzinian trans., Tiflis: Alioni, 1909, 557 pp.
  • Taloustieteen oppikirja, trans. Leo Laukki, Hancock, Mich.: Työmies Kustannusyhtiö, 1914. (in Finnish)
  • A Short Course of Economics Science, trans. J. Fineberg, ed. S.M. Dvolaitsky, London: Communist Party of Great Britain, 1923; Revised ed., 1925. (in English)
  • Kazakh trans., Orenburg: Kirgiz-gosi'dat, 1924, 316 pp.
• Osnovnyye elementy istoricheskogo vzglyada na prirodu [Основные элементы исторического взгляда на природу], St. Petersburg: Izdatelj, 1899, 261 pp.
• Poznanie s istoricheskoi tochki zreniya [Познание с исторической точки зрения; Knowledge from a Historical Viewpoint], St. Petersburg, 1901, 217 pp. Self-published.
• Iz psikhologii obshchestva (Stat'i 1901—1904 gg) [Из психологии общества (Статьи 1901—1904 гг.)], St. Petersburg: Dorovatovskiy and Charushnikov, 1904, 215 pp; 2nd ed., St. Petersburg, 1906.
• Liberaly i sotsialisty [Либералы и социалисты], Geneva: RSDRP, 1904, 31 pp; 2nd ed., St. Petersburg: Luch, 21 pp.
• Liberal'nyye programmy [Либеральные программы], Geneva: RSDRP, 1904, 28 pp.
• as Ryadovoy (Рядовой), with M.S. Olminski (as Galerka), Nashi nedorazumeniya [Наши недоразумения], Geneva: RSDRP, 1904, 91 pp.
• Empiriomonizm: stat'i po filosofii [Эмпириомонизм: статьи по философии; Empirio-Monism: Articles on Philosophy], 3 Vols, Moscow: S. Dorovatovskiy and A. Charushnikov, 1904-06, 184+169+159 pp.
• Kuda idet razvitiye obshchestva [Куда идет развитие общества], St. Petersburg: Molot, 1905, 16 pp.
• Liberalizm i demokratizm [Либерализм и демократизм], Moscow: Kolokol, 1905, 31 pp.
• Novyy mir (Stat'i 1904-1905), Moscow: S. Dorovatovskiy and A. Charushnikov, 1905.
• Chto takoye liberaly? [Что такое либералы?], Odessa: E.M. Alekseev, 1906, 22 pp; St. Petersburg: Vpered, 1907, 28 pp.
• Priklyucheniya odnoy filosofskoy shkoly [Приключения одной философской школы], St. Petersburg: Znanie, 1908, 66 pp.
• Padeniye velikogo fetishizma. Vera i nauka [Падение великого фетишизма. Вера и наука], St. Petersburg: Dorovatovskiy and Charushnikov, 1910, 223 pp.
• with N.M. Stepanov, Kurs politicheskoy ekonomii [Курс политической экономии], 2 Vols, St. Petersburg, Moscow and Prague, 1910-19. Vol 1, St. Petersburg: Znanie, 1910; Vol 1, Moscow: Mosk. sovet revolyuts. i krasn.-arm. deputatov, 1918, 351 pp; Vol 2, Moscow and Leningrad: Kommunist, 1920, 218 pp; Vol 2, 2nd ed., Moscow and Leningrad: Kommunist, 1919, 212 pp; Vol 2, 4th ed., Moscow and Leningrad: Kommunist, 1919, 208 pp.
  • Poliṭishe eḳonomye 1 [פאליטישע עקאנאמיע], New York: Farlag Heim, 1920. (in Yiddish)
  • Poliṭishe eḳonomye 2 [פאליטישע עקאנאמיע], New York: Farlag Heim, 1920. (in Yiddish)
  • Economia politica. Curso popular, Madrid, 1931. (in Spanish)
  • Politische Economie, Varsovie, 1935. (in German)
• Kul'turnye zadachi nashego vremeni [Культурные задачи нашего времени; The Cultural Tasks of Our Time], Moscow: S. Dorovatovskiy and A. Charushnikov, 1911, 92 pp.
• Vseobschaya organizatsionnaya nauka (Tektologiya) [Всеобщая организационная наука (Тектология); The Universal Science of Organization (Tektology)], Vol. 1, St. Petersburg: Semenov, 1913, 255 pp.
• Filosofiya zhivogo opyta: populiarnye ocherki [Философия живого опыта: Популярные очерки: Материализм, эмпириокритицизм, диалектический материализм, эмпириомонизм, наука будущего; Philosophy of Living Experience: Popular Essays], St. Petersburg: M.I. Semenov, 1913, 272 pp; 2nd ed., Moscow: Gosizdat, 1920, 256 pp; 3rd ed., 1923, 347 pp.
• Mezhdu chelovekom i mashinoy (O sisteme Teylora) [Между человеком и машиной (О системе Тэйлора)], St. Petersburg: Priboy, 1913, 13 pp; 2nd ed., Moscow: Volna, 1918, 15 pp.
  • Armenian trans., Tiflis, 1914, 16 pp.
• Vvedeniye v politicheskuyu ekonomiyu: (V voprosakh i otvetakh) [Введение в политическую экономию: (В вопросах и ответах)], St. Petersburg: Priboy, 1914, 128 pp; 2nd ed., Moscow, 1917, 152 pp, self-published.
  • Poliṭishe eḳonomye: in fragen un enṭferen, New York: Marx Publication Society, 1921. (in Yiddish)
• Nauka ob obshchestvennom soznanii: Kratkiy kurs ideologicheskoy naursi v voprosakh i otvetakh [Наука об общественном сознании: Краткий курс идеологической наурси в вопросах и ответах], Moscow, 1914, 199 pp, Self-published; 2nd ed., Moscow, 1918, 199 pp; 3rd ed., 1923, 313 pp.
• Pamyati velikogo uchitelya K. Marksa [Памяти великого учителя К. Маркса], Tiflis: Nadezhda, 1914, 8 pp.
• Rol' kollektiva v istorii [Роль коллектива в истории], Tiflis: Germes, 1914, 16 pp.
• Vseobschaya organizatsionnaya nauka (Tektologiya) [Всеобщая организационная наука (Тектология)], Vol. 2, Moscow, 1917, 153 pp. Self-published.
• Zadachi rabochikh v revolyutsii [Задачи рабочих в революции], Moscow: Ya.G. Sazonov, 1917, 22 pp; 2nd ed., 1917; 3rd ed., 1917; Penza: Obshchestv, 1917, 30 pp.
• Put' k sotsializmu//Krasnyy podarok soldatu [Путь к социализму//Красный подарок солдату], Moscow: Novaya Rossiya, 1917, 30 pp.
• Voprosy sotsializma [Вопросы социализма], Moscow, 1918, 104 pp. Self-published.
• Iskusstvo i rabochiy klass [Искусство и рабочий класс], Moscow: Prolet. kultura, 1918, 79 pp.
  • Die Kunst das Proletariat, Leipzig: Wolgast, 1918. (in German)
  • Armenian trans., Moscow, 1920.
  • La science, l'art et la classe ouvrière, Paris: Maspero, 1977. (in French)
• as N. Verner (Н. Вернер), Kuda idet razvitiye obshchestva [Куда идет развитие общества], Vyatka: Kul'tprosvet otd. Vyat. gub. ispoln. k-ta, 1918, 220 pp.
• Nachal'nyy kurs politicheskoy ekonomii (Vvedeniye v polit, ekonomiyu v vopr. i otvetakh) [Начальный курс политической экономии (Введение в полит, экономию в вопр. и ответах)], Moscow, 1918, 201 pp, self-published; 11th ed., Moscow: Gosizdat, 1924, 136 pp.
  • Tatar trans., Kazanj, 1921.
  • Gruzinian trans. (of 3rd ed.), Kutaisi and Tbilisi: Gosizdat, 1925, 176 pp.
• Stereotipnyye pereizdaniya v sled, gor.: 1918—Kazan', Tashkent; 1920 — Tyumen', Kineshma; 1921 — Khar'kov, Yekaterinoslav; 1923 — Ryazan', Saratov. Novyy mir [Стереотипные переиздания в след], 2nd ed., Moscow: Kommunist, 1918, 119 pp; 3rd ed., Moscow: Gosizdat, 1920, 136 pp.
• Sotsializm nauki [Социализм науки], Moscow: Prolet. kultura, 1918, 104 pp.
• Elementy proletarskoy kul'tury v razvitii rabochego klassa [Элементы пролетарской культуры в развитии рабочего класса], Moscow: Gosizdat, 1920, 96 pp.
• Ocherki vseobshchey organizatsionnoy nauki [Очерки всеобщей организационной науки], Samara: Gosizdat, 1921, 332 pp.
• Nauka i rabochiy klass: Dokl. na konferentsii proletarskikh kul'turno-prosvetitel'nykh obshchestv g. Moskvy [Наука и рабочий класс: Докл. на конференции пролетарских культурно-просветительных обществ г. Москвы], Moscow: Tip. Glavpolitprosveta, 1922, 28, 2 pp.
• Razvitiye obmena: (V voprosakh i otvetakh) [Развитие обмена: (В вопросах и ответах)], Arkhangel'sk: Tip. Arkh. gub. sov. part, shkoly im. V. I. Lenina, 1922, 22 pp.
• Tektologiya: vseobschaya organizatsionnaya nauka [Тектология: Всеобщая организационная наука], 3 Vols, Berlin, Petrograd and Moscow: Z.I. Grzhebin, 1922, 530 pp. Vols 1-2 in 2nd ed., Volume 3 in 1st ed.
  • Algemeine Organisationslehre (Tektologie), Bd I, Berlin, 1926; Bd II, Berlin: Hirzel, 1928. (in German)
  • Essays in Tektology, trans. George Gorelik, Seaside, CA: Intersystems Publications, 1980, 265 pp; 2nd ed., 1984. (in English)
  • Tektologiya: vseobschaya organizatsionnaya nauka. Tom 1, Moscow: Ekonomika, 1989, 303 pp.
  • Tektologiya: vseobschaya organizatsionnaya nauka. Tom 2, Moscow: Ekonomika, 1989, 352 pp.
  • Bogdanov’s Tektology, Book 1, trans. Vadim N. Sadovsky, Andrei Kartashov, Vladimir V. Kelle and Peter Bystrov, ed. Peter Dudley, Hull: Centre for Systems Studies, University of Hull, 1996, 322 pp. (in English)
• Teoriya kapitalizma [Теория капитализма], Moscow: Ispolbyuro studentov FONa 1-go MGU, 1922, 21 pp.
• Nauka pro suspil'nu svidomist [Наука про суспiльну свидомiсть], Kyiv: Derzh. vid. Ukraini, 1923, 153 pp.
• Murg i mangakh [Мург и мангах], 1923, 255 pp.
• O proletarskoy kul'ture: 1904—1924 [О пролетарской культуре: 1904—1924], Leningrad and Moscow: Kniga, 1924, 344 pp.
• God raboty Instituta perelivanya krovi [Annals of the Institute of Blood Transfusion], Moscow, 1926-27.

Selected articles

• "Avtobiografia", in Entsiklopedicheskii slovar XLI, 1926, pp 29-34. (in Russian)
• "Ocherki organizatsionnoi nauki" [Очерки организационной науки], Proletarskaya kul'tura 7/8 (April-May 1919).
  • Essays in Organisation Science. (in English)
• "Proletarian Poetry", Labour Monthly 4:5-6 (May-June 1923). (in English)
• "The Criticism of Proletarian Art" (from Kritika proletarskogo iskusstva, 1918), Labour Monthly 5:6 (December 1923). (in English)
• "Religion, Art and Marxism", Labour Monthly 6:8 (August 1924). (in English)
• "The Workers’ Artistic Inheritance", The Labour Monthly 6:9 (September 1924), pp 549-597. (in English)
• Bogdanov's articles published in the journal MIAB, 2000-05.
• "Die Integration des Menschen" (1904, 1924), "Die Tektologie des Kampfes gegen das Alter" (1922), "Der Kampf um die Vitalität" (1927), in Die Neue Menschheit - Biopolitische Utopien in Russland zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts, trans. Dagmar Kassek, eds. Boris Groys and Michael Hagemeister, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 2005, pp 482-605. (in German) [2]

Bibliography

• Compiled by the International Alexander Bogdanov Institute

Fiction

Red Star, 1908. Download.

• Krasnaya zvezda [Красная звезда], St. Petersburg, 1908, 156 pp, self-published; Petrograd: Sovet rab. i krasn.-arm. deputatov, 1918, 144 pp; 2nd ed., 1924; 6th ed., Moscow and Leningrad: Kniga, 1924, 159 pp; Leningrad: Krasnaya gazeta, 1929, 192 pp; Moscow: Khudozh. literatura, 1986. The second edition includes the poem "A Martian Stranded on Earth" about a Martian who has reached Earth but is unable to return to his native planet. where mankind has attained a superior level of communist civilization. (in Russian)
  • Sarkanā zvaigzne, Riga: Bucens, 1908, 144 pp. (in Latvian)
  • "L'Étoile rouge", trans. W.P., in La Société nouvelle, June 1913-February 1914. (in French)
  • Gruzinian trans., Tbilisi: Gosizdat, 1923.
  • Armenian trans., Erevan: Gosizdat, 1925, 244 pp.
  • Ruga Stelo. Fantasia romano Leipzig, 1929. (in German)
  • Red star. Pre‑Revolutionary Russian Science Fiction, Ann Arbor, MI: Ardis, 1982.
  • Red Star: The First Bolshevik Utopia, trans. Charles Rougle, eds. Loren R. Graham and Richard Stites, Indiana University Press, 1984. Contains also Engineer Menni and "A Martian Stranded on Earth".
  • Der rote Stern. Ein utopischer Roman, trans. Hermynia zur Mühlen, Darmstadt, 1982. (in German)
  • Der rote Planet. Utopischer Roman, trans. Reinhard Fischer, Berlin, 1984. (in German)
  • L’étoile rouge, L'Ingénieur Menni, Lausanne, L'Age d'Homme, 1985. (in French)
  • Der rote Planet. Ingenieur Menni. Utopische Romane, ed. P. Rollberg, Berlin, 1989. (in German)
  • Der rote Planet, undated translation. (in German)
  • Estrella roja, Nevsky Prospects, 2010, 271 pp. (in Spanish) [3]
• Inzhener Menni. Fantasticheskiy roman [Инженер Мэнни. Фантастический роман; Engineer Menni], St. Petersburg: S. Dorovatovskiy and A. Charushnikov, 1912, 150 pp; 2nd ed., Moscow: Volna, 1918, 143 pp; 6th ed., Leningrad: Krasnaya gazeta, 139 pp. The title page carries the date 1913. A historical novel about the social revolution on Mars. (in Russian)

On Bogdanov

Zenovia A. Sochor, Revolution and Culture: The Bogdanov-Lenin Controversy, 1988. Download.

Monographs

• Dietrich Grille, Lenins Rivale. Bogdanov und seine Philosophie, Cologne, 1966. (in German)
• A.A. Belova, A.A. Bogdanov, Moscow: Meditsina, 1974, 60 pp. (in Russian)
• K. M. Jensen, Beyond Marx and Mach: Aleksandr Bogdanov’s Philosophy of Living Experience, Dordrecht, Boston and London: D. Reidel, 1978, 189 pp. Review, Review.
• Zenovia A. Sochor, Revolution and Culture: The Bogdanov-Lenin Controversy, Cornell University Press, 1988, 258 pp. Review.
• Peter Dudley, Simona Pustylnik, Reading The Tektology: provisional findings, postulates and research directions, Hull: Centre for Systems Studies, University of Hull, 1995.
• John Biggart, Georgii Gloveli, Avraham Yassour, Bogdanov and His Work: A Guide to the Published and Unpublished Works of Alexander A. Bogdanov (Malinovsky) 1873-1928, Aldershot: Ashgate, 1998.
• John Biggart, Peter Dudley, Francis King (eds.), Alexander Bogdanov and the Origins of Systems Thinking in Russia. The Proceedings of a Conference at the University of East Anglia, Aldershot: Ashgate, 1998.
• Maja Soboleva, Aleksandr Bogdanov und der philosophische Diskurs in Russland zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts. Zur Geschichte des russischen Positivismus, Hildesheim, Zürich, New York: Georg Olms, 2007, 278 pp. (in German)

Journal issues

• Russian Review, Vol. 49, No 3, Jul 1990, Special Issue on Alexander Bogdanov. [4]

Book chapters, Theses, Articles, Papers and Blog posts

• V.I. Lenin, "Materialism and Empirio-Criticism: Critical Comments on a Reactionary Philosophy" [1909; 1920], in Lenin, Collected Works, Vol. 14, Moscow: Progress, 1972, pp 17-362. A polemic against Bogdanov and others, dealing with the influence of Positivism in the Bolshevik Party. Written during February to October 1908 in Geneva and London. Translated into over 20 languages.
• G. A. Wetter, "Der Empiriomonismus Bogdanows", in Der Dialektische Materialismus, Freiburg, 1953, pp 102-110. (in German)
• S. V. Utechin, "Philosophie und Gesellschaft. Alexander Bogdanov", in Der Revisionismus, ed. L. Labedz, Cologne, 1965, pp 149-161. (in German)
• A. Yassour, Leçons de la Révolution de 1905 : la controverse Lénine-Bogdanov, Paris, 1967. Thesis. (in French)
• A. Yassour, Bogdanov et son œuvre", Cahiers du Monde Russe et Soviétique 10:3/4 (1969), pp 546-584. (in French)
• Tony Cliff, "16. Lenin schließt die Linksradikalen aus", in Lenin 1. Aufbau der Partei [1975], Verein für Geschichte und Zeitgeschichte der Arbeiterbewegung, 2001. (in German)
• Evald Ilyenkov, "Chapter 2. The Positive Programme of Russian Positivism", in Leninist Dialectics and the Metaphysics of Positivism [1979], New Park Publications, 1982. A study of the novel Red Star.
• George Gorelick, "Bogdanov's Tektology: Nature, Development and Influences", Studies in Soviet Thought, 26 (1983), pp 37-57.
• Rolf-Dieter Kluge, "Alexander A. Bogdanow (Malinowskij) als Science-fiction-Autor", in Science-fiction in Osteuropa. Beiträge zur russischen, polnischen und tschechischen phantastischen Literatur, ed. Wolfgang Kasack, Berlin: A. Spitz, 1984, pp 26-37. (in German)
• A. Belykh, "A.-A Bogdanov's theory of equilibrium and the economic discussions of the 1920", Soviet Studies 42:3 (1990).
• Robert Tartarin, "Transfusion sanguine et immortalité chez Alexandr Bogdanov", Droit & société 28 (1994). (in French)
• Simona Pustylnik, "Biological Ideas of Bogdanov's Tektology". Presented at the international conference, Origins of Organization Theory in Russia and the Soviet Union, University of East Anglia (Norwich), 8-11 January 1995.
• David G. Rowley, "How Important Was Alexander Bogdanov?", H-Russia, May 2000. Double-review.
• Arran Gare, "Aleksandr Bogdanov and Systems Theory", Democracy & Nature 6:3 (2000), pp 341-359.
• Stefan, "Bogdanov, technocracy and socialism", Socialist Standard 106:1232 (April 2007), p 10.
• Maja Soboleva, "Wirtschaftliche Ideen Aleksandr Bogdanovs", 2008. (in German)
• Andreas Heyer, "Bogdanow, Alexander Alexandrowitsch (Malinowski)", in Sozialutopien der Neuzeit: bibliographisches Handbuch, Vol. 2, Münster: Lit, 2009, pp 337-340. (in German)
• McKenzie Wark, "Against Social Determinism", Public Seminar, 5 December 2013.

External links

• International Alexander Bogdanov Institute, Ekaterinburg. Bogdanov's biography.
• Alexander Bogdanov Archive at marxists.org
• Bogdanov in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
• Bogdanov at Wikipedia