Vpered

Vpered (Forward) was a Russian revolutionary organization that existed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a splinter group of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP), formed in 1905 by a faction led by Alexander Bogdanov and Maxim Gorky. The Vpered group was characterized by its emphasis on philosophical idealism and its development of the concept of "god-building" (bogostroitelstvo). This ideology sought to create a new, secular religion or a sense of collective purpose and meaning that would inspire the working class to revolutionary action.

The Vperedists diverged from the more orthodox Marxist views of the majority of the RSDLP, particularly on issues of epistemology and the role of revolutionary consciousness. They believed that traditional Marxist materialism was insufficient and that a more spiritual or emotional impetus was needed for social transformation. This philosophical stance led to internal conflicts within the RSDLP and ultimately contributed to the party's eventual split into the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks, with Vpered aligning more closely with the Bolsheviks for a period.

However, the philosophical differences eventually led to further estrangement. The god-building concept was controversial and was rejected by many within the broader socialist movement, including Vladimir Lenin, who saw it as a deviation from scientific socialism. The Vpered organization itself was relatively short-lived, dissolving by the mid-1910s as its members pursued different political and philosophical paths. Despite its eventual dissolution, the Vpered movement left a notable mark on the intellectual history of Russian revolutionary thought, particularly its exploration of the intersection of religion, philosophy, and political action.