The following lines(1) were written on the occasion of a debate in which I became involved with a Mr. Peter Nikitich Tkachov. In an article about the Russian periodical Forward, published in London (Volksstaat, 1874, Nos. 117 and 118),(2) I had cause to mention this gentleman's name quite in passing, but in such a way as to draw his esteemed hostility down upon myself. Without delay Mr. Tkachov issued an "Offener Brief an Herrn Friedrich Engels", Zurich, 1874, in which he attributes all manner of odd things to me and then, in contrast to my crass ignorance, treats his readers to his own opinion on the state of things in general and the prospects for social revolution in Russia. Both form and content of this concoction bore the usual Bakuninist stamp. As it had been published in German, I thought it worth the effort to reply in the Volksstaat (cf. Refugee Literature, Nos. IV and V,
Volksstaat, 1875, No. 36, et seq.). The first part of my reply dealt mainly with the Bakuninist approach to literary debate, which is simply to accuse your opponent of telling a pack of direct lies.(3) By virtue of being published in the Volksstaat this predominantly personal part has been given a sufficient airing. It is for that reason that I now set it aside and for this separate impression, which has been requested by the publishing house, leave only the second part intact, the part which deals mainly with the social conditions in Russia as they have taken shape since 1861, since what has become known as the emancipation of the peasants.
Developments in Russia are of the greatest importance for the German working class. The existing Russian Empire represents
Endnotes
[118] Engels wrote this introduction for a separate edition of Article V from his Refugee Literature series (see Note 52).