Was Evald Ilyenkov as aesthetician?

The article is devoted to the aesthetic views of the Soviet philosopher E.V. Ilyenkov, whose heritage is attributed to the classics of Marxist thought of the XXth century. In his understanding of art, he proceeds from the idea of the social and universal essence of man. At the same time, art specially cultivates the power of imagination, representing the universal nature of creativity in its pure form. From such standpoint, Ilyenkov criticizes modern art, drawing closer to another representative of Soviet «creative Marxism» M.A. Lifshits. The article points out the difference between Ilyenkov and Lifshits in interpreting Marx’s thesis of the transformation of the world according to the «laws of beauty». The author shows that in the works of Ilyenkov, art not only forms things in accordance with the standard of every species, but is also able to go beyond this framework, expressing an ideal determination peculiar only to man.