Alexei Nikolayevich Leontiev
Алексей Николаевич Леонтьев
1903–1979
○ Died, buried at Kuntsevo Cemetery
Founder of activity theory who laid the institutional foundations of Marxist psychology
One is not born a personality — one becomes a personality.
A Soviet psychologist and philosopher who, alongside Lev Vygotsky and Alexander Luria, developed cultural-historical psychology and founded activity theory: the framework holding that human consciousness arises through active, goal-directed interaction with the objective world. He led the Kharkov school of psychology in the 1930s, pioneering experimental research on child development, memory, and volition, and later became the first dean of Moscow State University's Faculty of Psychology, shaping the institutional landscape of Soviet psychology. His magnum opus Activity, Consciousness, Personality is regarded as a classic of Marxist psychology and has exerted broad international influence. After Vygotsky's death he extended their shared theoretical legacy in a distinct direction, seeking to ground psychology in the analysis of 'real life processes.'
Career Timeline
- 1924Graduated MGU, researcher at Institute of Psychology
- 1924–1930Collaborated with Vygotsky and Luria
- 1931–1934Led the Kharkov school of psychology
- 1934–1941Returned to Moscow, continued research at Institute of Psychology
- 1941–1966Professor, Head of Psychology Dept., Faculty of Philosophy, MGU
- 1950–1957Academic Secretary, Psychology Division, RSFSR Academy of Pedagogical Sciences
- 1959–1961Vice-President, RSFSR Academy of Pedagogical Sciences
- 1966–1979First Dean, Faculty of Psychology, Moscow State University