G. V. Plekhanov. N. G. Chernyshevsky. Shipovnik Publishing House. St. Petersburg, 1910

Written not earlier than October 1909 and not later than April 1911. Published in part in 1933 in Lenin Miscellany XXV. Published in full for the first time. Published according to the original.

Lenin’s Remarks in G. V. Plekhanov’s book “N. G. Chernyshevsky,” St. Petersburg, 1910—-written not earlier than October 1909 (the actual date of the book’s appearance) and not later than April 1911. They were first published in 1933 in Lenin Miscellany XXV.

Many of Lenin’s comments are devoted to a comparison of statements by Plekhanov in his book published in 1910 with his articles on Chernyshevsky published in 1890 and 1892 in Sotsial-Demokrat, a literary and political review (see Sotsial-Demokrat, Book 1, London, 1890; Book 2, Geneva, 1890; Book 3, Geneva, 1890; Book 4, Geneva, 1892).

These four articles by Plekhanov were brought together in the book N. G. Chernyshevsky appearing in Germany in 1894 in German. Plekhanov’s book, which gave, in the main, a correct characterisation of Chernyshevsky’s views and which sharply attacked the Narodniks, was favourably commented upon by Lenin in the article “A Retrograde Trend in Russian Social-Democracy” (see pres. ed., Vol. 4, Moscow, 1961, p. 271).

Plekhanov’s book N. G. Chernyshevsky published in 1910 was written at a time when he had already gone over to Menshevism. It was in effect directed against Bolshevism against the Bolshevist evaluation of the world outlook and activity of Chernyshevsky and the revolutionary democrats of the 19th century. In this book, Plekhanov abandons a number of basic propositions in his earlier evaluation of Chernyshevsky, obscuring his revolutionary democratism, his resolute struggle against liberalism and his backing of the peasant revolution.

Lenin carefully collates the text of the book published in 1910 with Plekhanov’s articles in Sotsial-Demokrat, noting which of Plekhanov’s basic formulations remained unchanged and which underwent radical change.

Lenin’s remarks and notations in Plekhanov’s book are inseparably linked with his numerous statements on Chernyshevsky—in the writings published before he became acquainted with Plekhanov’s book (What the “Friends of the People” Are and How They Fight the Social-Democrats, The Heritage We Renounce, On “Vekhi”;, and Materialism and Empirio-Criticism) as well as in those written afterwards (Peasant Reform and Proletarian Peasant Revolution, In Memory of Herzen, From the Past of the Workers’ Press in Russia, etc.).