Nikolai Bukharin
Bolshevik theorist, NEP advocate, and architect of the 1936 Constitution.
Nikolai Bukharin was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and Marxist thinker. Vladimir Lenin once called him the Communist Party’s “most valuable and major theorist,” and his ideas became known as Bukharinism. He held government positions from 1917 until he was purged in 1937.
Born in Moscow on 9 October 1888 (27 September, old style), Bukharin was the second son of two schoolteachers. His father was an atheist and often had young Nikolai recite poetry for guests. Bukharin later wrote a mostly autobiographical novel, *How It All Began*, about his childhood.
His political life started at sixteen, when he and his friend Ilya Ehrenburg took part in student activities at Moscow University during the 1905 revolution. He joined the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1906, aligning with its Bolshevik faction. In 1907, he and Grigori Sokolnikov organized a national youth conference in Moscow, later seen as the founding of the Komsomol. By age twenty, Bukharin was on the party’s Moscow Committee, which was heavily infiltrated by the Tsarist secret police, the Okhrana. He became close to Valerian Obolensky and Vladimir Smirnov. He also met his first wife, Nadezhda Mikhailovna Lukina, his cousin and the sister of fellow party member Nikolai Lukin; they married in 1911 after returning from internal exile.
In 1911, after a short imprisonment, Bukharin was exiled to Onega in Arkhangelsk but soon escaped to Hanover, Germany. He spent a year there before visiting Lenin in Kraków, Poland, in 1912. During exile, he continued studying and wrote several books that made him a major Bolshevik theorist. Lenin endorsed his work *Imperialism and World Economy*. Still, the two often argued over theory, especially Bukharin’s anti-statist views and his ties to European leftists. Bukharin was also drawn to Austrian Marxists and heterodox thinkers like Aleksandr Bogdanov, who disagreed with Lenin.
In October 1916, based in New York City, Bukharin edited the newspaper *Novy Mir* (New World) alongside Leon Trotsky and Alexandra Kollontai. When Trotsky arrived in New York in January 1917, Bukharin was the first to greet him—Trotsky’s wife recalled Bukharin giving a bear hug and immediately dragging the tired couple across town to show them a public library that stayed open late.
After the February Revolution of 1917, exiled revolutionaries rushed home. Trotsky left New Y
- born
- 9 October 1888 (O.S. 27 September 1888), Moscow
- died
- 15 March 1938, executed after a show trial
- field
- Revolutionary politics, Marxist theory, economics
- nationality
- Russian
- known_for
- Bukharinism, chief theorist of the New Economic Policy, editor of Pravda and Izvestia, principal architect of the 1936 Soviet Constitution
Lore & Background
Nikolai Bukharin was born in Moscow in 1888, the second son of two schoolteachers. His political life began at age sixteen during the 1905 Revolution, and he joined the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1906, becoming a member of its Bolshevik faction. After arrest and internal exile in 1910, he escaped abroad, meeting Lenin and Trotsky, and built his reputation with works such as Imperialism and World Economy (1915). He returned to Moscow after the February Revolution of 1917, became a leading figure in the party, and after the October Revolution became editor of Pravda. He led the Left Communist faction in 1918 and during the civil war wrote The ABC of Communism (1920) and Historical Materialism (1921).
Reader's Guide
Bukharin was initially a proponent of war communism, but in 1921 supported the introduction of the New Economic Policy (NEP) and became its chief theorist and advocate. By late 1924, this stance positioned him as Joseph Stalin's chief ally, and he elaborated Stalin's theory of 'socialism in one country'. From 1926 to 1929, he served as General Secretary of the Comintern's executive committee. Following Stalin's decision to proceed with agricultural collectivisation, Bukharin was labelled as the leader of the Right Opposition and was removed from Pravda, the Comintern, and the party leadership in 1929. After a period in lower positions, he was reelected to the Central Committee in 1934 and became editor of Izvestia. He was a principal architect of the 1936 Soviet Constitution. During the Great Purge, he was accused of treason in February 1937 and executed after a show trial in 1938. His legacy is that of a major Bolshevik theorist whose economic ideas—Bukharinism—and later opposition to forced collectivisation defined a key faction within early Soviet politics.
Did You Know?
- Bukharin was described by Vladimir Lenin as a 'most valuable and major theorist' of the Communist Party.
- He co-wrote The ABC of Communism with Yevgeni Preobrazhensky in 1920.
- Bukharin was a principal architect of the 1936 Soviet Constitution.
- He was executed after a show trial on 15 March 1938.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Nikolai Bukharin?
Nikolai Bukharin was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and Marxist theorist born in Moscow in 1888. Lenin regarded him as the Communist Party's most valuable and major theorist, and he occupied government posts from 1917 until his purge in 1937.
What was Bukharin's main role in Soviet politics?
He served as the chief theorist behind the New Economic Policy, edited major party newspapers such as Pravda and Izvestia, and is credited as the principal architect of the 1936 Soviet Constitution. His body of economic and political ideas collectively became known as Bukharinism.
How does Bukharin's story end?
After being purged from power in 1937, he was subjected to a show trial and executed on 15 March 1938. His death marked the final silencing of one of the early Soviet movement's most prominent intellectual voices.
Why is Bukharin important in the history of European statesmen?
His theoretical work shaped Soviet economic direction during the critical post-revolution years, and his argument for a gradual, market-assisted transition to socialism influenced political debates that extended well beyond Russia. His later persecution also became a defining example of the Stalinist purges.
What is Bukharinism and where did the term come from?
Bukharinism refers to the set of economic and political positions Bukharin championed, most notably his defense of the New Economic Policy and his advocacy for peasant cooperation over forced collectivization. The label was popularized by his political opponents to summarize and dismiss his ideas, though it grew out of his own writings and speeches.
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