Gregori Maximov - Discusión con Bakunin (ES)

Gregori Maximov, one of the foremost experts on Bakunin, published one of the best anthologies of Bakunin’s work in English; he also prepared a pamphlet in Russian in 1934—evidently anticipating global unrest following the 1929 crisis—intended for clandestine distribution within the USSR.

Maximov anticipates questions and criticisms, answering them with quotations from Bakunin that were admirably well-chosen, the fruit of years of reading and study.

I find this work excellent. Bakunin’s thought is presented with great clarity, offering more flexibility than a standard anthology and fewer digressions than are found in his original texts. The atmosphere of the era explains the emphasis placed on civil war, the collective responsibility of certain social classes, the use of terror, and the difficulties involved in controlling it.