To the extent that Abram Moiseevich Deborin is known to the English-speaking reader, it is due to his role in the philosophical debates in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and early 1930s. In these debates, he spoke as the leader of the “dialecticians," who sparred with the “mechanists,” led by L. I. Akselrod (Orthodox). The significance of this debate has been described by I. Iakhot in his untranslated book, “The Suppression of Philosophy in the USSR (1920s-1930s),” and by David Bakhurst in "Consciousness and Revolution in Soviet Philosophy. From the Bolsheviks to Evald Ilyenkov." Unfortunately, relatively few of the articles and speeches in these debates have been translated into English.
Born in 1881, Deborin became a Bolshevik in 1903. By 1907, however, he joined with the Mensheviks and became known as one of Plekhanov's disciples, both in politics and philosophy. In 1908, Deborin graduated from the philosophy department at Bern University (Akselrod had received her doctorate there in 1900). He soon began publishing major books and articles on philosophy from a Marxist perspective.
Soon after the October Revolution of 1917, Deborin left the Mensheviks and began lecturing at the Sverdlov University, the Institute of Red Professors and the Institute of Philosophy. He soon assumed editorial duties at the journal, "Under the Banner of Marxism," which he headed from 1926-1931.
By 1926 and 1927, clashes with the "mechanists" became quite heated. It seems that Deborin and his supporters gained the upper hand, but he came under strong criticism in the Central Committee resolution of January 25, 1931, where Deborin was charged with being a "Menshevizing idealist."
As the 1930s progressed, Deborin began to be published less and less. He remained, however, a member of the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences, one of the most privileged positions in Soviet academia. He did not fall victim to the Great Terror of 1936-38, but almost nothing by him was published between 1935 and 1956. During the Khrushchev "Thaw," Deborin's articles began to reappear. In 1961, a major collection of his articles was published. Deborin died on 8 March 1963.
