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The Long Retreat. Strategies to Reverse the Decline of the Left

Author Boris Kagarlitsky

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An intellectual tour-de-force by one of Russia´s most prominent dissidents

‘Boris Kagarlitsky is a man of enormous intellect and bravery ... I’ve always been stimulated by discussions with Boris and his relationship with thoughtful figures all around the world’ – Jeremy Corbyn MP

‘Perhaps the most prominent Marxist thinker in the post-Soviet space’ – Open Democracy

‘This brilliant and profound book is likely to become a classic’ – Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Authoritarianism is rampant across the globe. Right-wing governments from Russia to America oversee wars from Ukraine to Palestine, while capitalism lurches from crisis to crisis, its citizens mired in poverty. Imprisoned Putin critic Boris Kagarlitsky confronts this stark reality, demanding a clear strategy from the left to dismantle this ever-darkening nightmare.

As well as bringing Russian and Western thinkers into dialogue, Kagarlitsky draws upon his experiences as a Russian dissident since the latter days of the Soviet Union in this detailed analysis of leftist strategy. As a Marxist, he engages in radical ideas including Universal Basic Income and decentralised collective ownership, as well as looking at historical and contemporary examples of revolution and dissent, covering the left’s response to the war in Ukraine.

Written just before Kagarlitsky’s imprisonment, The Long Retreat stands as a testament to subversive Russian literature. It asks if the left can put aside its paralysing sectarianism and conceits of ideological purity in order to transform society for the benefit of the global working class. Kagarlitsky believes it can, as long as it is unafraid to look critically at its own ideas and actions.

Boris Kagarlitsky is a Russian Marxist theoretician and sociologist who has been a political dissident in the former Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. He is the author of many books. In 2023 he was detained under Putin’s regime for speaking out against the war in Ukraine, and in February 2024 he was sentenced to five years in a penal colony.