The doyen of Soviet Marxist history of philosophy who alone survived his institute's purge
In the 1930s, every researcher at the Leningrad Institute of Philosophy except Chagin was arrested; the overwhelming majority were shot.
A Marxist philosopher who alone survived when all his colleagues at the Leningrad Institute of Philosophy were executed in the Stalin purge. He became the foremost authority on Georgi Plekhanov, editing his collected philosophical works, for which he won the Plekhanov Prize, and was elected a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
Career Timeline
- 1920–1921Fought in Civil War and Kronstadt rebellion suppression; joined RCP(b)
- 1922–1931Began teaching; graduated from Institute of Red Professors (philosophy)
- 1930sTaught Marxism-Leninism at Red Army institutions and Leningrad Communist Academy
- 1940–1941Dean, Philosophy Faculty, Leningrad State University
- 1946Doctor of Philosophical Sciences
- 1956–1967Head, Dept. of History of Philosophy, Leningrad State University
- 1960Elected Corresponding Member, USSR Academy of Sciences
- 1963–1987Senior researcher, then head, Leningrad Philosophy Section, USSR Academy of Sciences