Economic and Political Views of Nikolai Kondratiev in 1913-1915 (Based on his Book “The Development of the Economy of Kineshma Zemstvo in Kostroma Province”)
In 2022, academia will celebrate 130th anniversary of the outstanding Russian economist Nikolai Kondratiev. Despite the great scholarly interest in Kondratiev’s mature work, his early studies are much less known. This paper analyzes Kondratiev’s economic and political views in 1913-1915, at the time of writing and publishing his first book “The Development of the Economy of Kineshma Zemstvo in Kostroma Province: Socio-Economic and Financial Study”. The article discusses Kondratiev’s views on society and economy in the prerevolutionary period. Kondratiev was a proponent of the positivist approach. The researcher, from Kondratiev’s point of view, should see patterns and trends of development behind facts and figures and not individual features of a specific zemstvo. Kondratiev adopted the Marxist approach to the structure of the social order, but denied the inevitable antagonism of classes. Kondratiev considered zemstvos as an example of effective cooperation of different classes as zemstvo leaders belonging to the noble class took care of the needs of the entire population. Thus, it can be argued that in 1913-1915, Kondratiev adhered to moderate socialist views and argued for gradual social reforms over the revolutionary path. Kondratiev’s approach was not dogmatic and he was open to all kinds of ideas and perspectives, regardless of which side their proponents were on. Nevertheless, he denied the role of individuals in history and saw people’s actions as nothing but a reflection of certain circumstances and class interests. The study of Kondratiev’s mature works will make it possible to better understand the evolution of the views of the outstanding economist, can become the basis for a deeper analysis of his classical works, will give an opportunity to take a new look at the development of domestic economic thought in the first third of the XX century.