M.I. Tugan-Baranovsky and his attitude to Marxism

In the article the author challenges the point of view widespread in the Soviet literature that M.I.Tugan-Baranovsky initially was not a Marxist. In his opinion, the Russian thinker at first was sincerely keen on Marxism, but divided not everything in it. Already in his first scientific article “About the value reasons”(1890) he made amendments to the theory of value of Karl Marx. Strictly speaking, his master thesis about industrial crises was not quite Marxist. In it he came to a conclusion that capitalism will not die a natural death and is internally capable to continuous development. However, doctoral dissertation of M.I.Tugan-Baranovsky “The Russian factory” (1898) was got generally by Marxist ideology. The scientist started open criticism of Marxism since May, 1899. Further, at the beginning of the XX century he accused Marxism of a social monism, absolutization of a role of productive forces in historical process, underestimation of mental factors of social development, denied the law of tendency of rate of profit formulated by Karl Marx to fall and the impoverishment of the proletariat. The Russian scientist also sharply criticized Marxism from ethical positions and according to the author of this article this criticism of Marxist ethics and morals actually contained anticipation of Leninism and Stalinism. In fact, at the beginning of the XX century the scientist actively looked for his own way, and on this way there were very few basic contacts with Marxism.