The philosopher Stalin elevated to the Politburo in his final act
In his 1964 book Historical Materialism, Chesnokov broke with the Stalinist line: 'Dogmatists and sectarians who extend the dictatorship of the proletariat to the entire period of socialism essentially share Stalin's erroneous thesis on the intensification of class struggle under socialism.'
Soviet Marxist philosopher and party ideologue. A specialist in historical materialism and Herzen's worldview, his 1948 study won the Stalin Prize in 1951. As editor of Voprosy Filosofii (1949–1952) and then head of the CC Philosophy and History Department and editor of Kommunist (1952–1953), he rose to the core of late Stalinist ideological management. At the 19th Congress in October 1952 Stalin elevated him to the Presidium (the last philosopher on the party's supreme body) only for him to be removed the day after Stalin's death. After serving as a Gorky regional official and chair of State Radio and Television, he returned to Moscow State University, where in his 1964 book he openly repudiated Stalin's thesis on intensifying class struggle under socialism.
Career Timeline
- 1931–1943Lecturer and department head, Sverdlovsk University
- 1943–1947Department head, then propaganda secretary, Sverdlovsk City Committee
- 1947–1948Deputy head, Science Department, CC Propaganda Directorate
- 1948–1951Deputy director, Institute of Philosophy, USSR Academy of Sciences
- 1949–1952Editor-in-chief, Voprosy Filosofii
- 1952–1953Presidium member; head of Philosophy & History Dept; editor, Kommunist
- 1953–1957Department head, then secretary, Gorky Regional Committee
- 1957–1959Chairman, State Committee for Radio and Television
- 1959–1967Head, Dept of Historical Materialism, Moscow State University
- 1967–1970Vice-rector, Academy of Social Sciences, CC CPSU