Russian imperial expansionism as a subject of study explored by the founding fathers of marxism

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a detailed analysis of the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels that scrutinize historical circumstances of formation of the expansionist foreign policy course implemented by Muscovy – Russia, i.e., the works of the founding fathers of Marxism which were carefully hidden by the USSR Communist authorities because they give devastating criticism of the foreign policy of Russian state formations in the 13th – 19th centuries aimed at achieving a global domination. The research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, systematicity, authorial objectivity, and the use of both general scientific (analysis, synthesis, generalization) and special historical (historical and genetic, historical and typological, historical and systemic) methods. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the fact that the comprehensive study of the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels on the foreign policy of Muscovy – Russia was conducted, since the relevant research allowed these authors to find out historical origins of the Russian expansionism and to predict Russia’s aggressive behaviour in the international arena for centuries to come. The Conclusion. Comprehensive analysis of the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels on the foreign policy of Muscovy – Russia, which were silenced and criticized in the Communist USSR, allows a researcher to find out the origins, essence, tools and consequences of the implementation of the foreign policy strategy of Russian state formations in the 13th – 19th centuries. Written in the second half of the 19th century, the articles of these famous German philosophers draw scientifically objective conclusions on the Russian policy of imperial expansion to have been borrowed by the founding fathers of Muscovy – Russia from the Khans of the Golden Horde. Since Marx and Engels were recognized as the foremost advocates of the Communist ideology in the USSR, their balanced assessment of the foreign policy doctrine of Russian state formations aimed at achieving global domination became extremely unpleasant for the Soviet totalitarian regime. In this context, all the conclusions on the imperial essence of Russia made by the founding fathers of Marxism remain extremely important and relevant. They allow a researcher to answer the key question of modern-day international politics by explaining why the Russian Federation is constantly violating the peremptory norms of international law and why its authorities are permanently seeking to regain Russia’s superpower status.