Library of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism

Library of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism 

of the Central Committee of the CPSU, in Moscow, the central book repository of the CPSU and the largest specialized library on the theory and history of Marxism-Leninism, the history of the CPSU, and the history of the international workers’ and communist movement. This library was created as the result of the merging in 1931 of the K. Marx and F. Engels Institute (founded in 1921) and the V. I. Lenin Institute (founded in 1923) and of their libraries.

As of Jan. 1, 1970, the library’s collection numbered 796,000 Russian and foreign books, 232,000 issues of Russian and 702,000 issues of foreign journals, and 12,000 annual sets of Russian and 13,000 annual sets of foreign newspapers. Editions of the works of K. Marx, F. Engels, and V. I. Lenin, published in many languages, have been collected with great thoroughness. Especially valuable are the unique collections of editions of the works of K. Marx and F. Engels published during their lifetimes, and journals and newspapers which were published with their participation. Equally valuable are the prerevolutionary, including the illegal, publications of V. I. Lenin and the Bolshevik periodical publications which he directed. An extensive collection of illegal Russian revolutionary literature, as well as publications from the period of the Great French Revolution and the Revolution of 1848, the First International, and the Paris Commune, is preserved in this library. Also included in the library’s collections are the Geneva Library of the RSDLP, the library of G. A. Kuklin, the library of the Committee for the History of the October Revolution and Russian CP (Bolshevik), and a number of private book collections.

The study facilities in the reading room of the library may be used by the staff of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism as well as by scholarly employees of other institutions. The library carries out reference and bibliographical work in its subject field, participates in the interlibrary loan system, conducts an international book exchange, and publishes the rotary printed quarterly bulletin K. Marx, F. Engels, V. I. Lenin (concerning editions of their works and literature about them published in the USSR). The library has also published Social Democratic Leaflets, 1894–1917 (vols. 1–2, Moscow, 1931–34), Chronological Index to the Works of V. I. Lenin (parts 1–3, Moscow, 1959–63), The Bolshevik Periodical Press (covering the period from December 1900 through October 1917, Moscow, 1964), and others.

R. IA. ZVEREV