The Soviet state and law in the 20–30s of the twentieth century: a view from abroad (J.M. Keynes)

This article provides an author’s survey of the set of views on the Soviet state and law reflected in the scientific heritage of the outstanding British economist and politician John M. Keynes in the context of his interaction with Soviet politicians and scientists of the early twentieth century. The purpose of the study is to identify a kind of «Russian trace» in the life and scientific work of John M. Keynes. Research methods: general scientific (historical, dialectical, etc.), as well as specific scientific (comparative legal, formal logical, etc.). Results: the study makes it possible to generalize John M. Keynes's ambiguous assessments of Soviet statehood in the first decade of Soviet power, in which along with the epithet «laboratory of a new life» the tendency of «Soviet power to violence» was emphasized. The article also gives an analysis of the attitude of his contemporaries – Soviet statesmen and scientists to the scientific research of John M. Keynes.