This is a series of lectures going through the development of Marxism: The central question is how Marx and Engels 'created' Marxism.
About the author: In 1921, Rjazanov was entrusted with founding and directing the newly established Marx-Engels Institute in the Soviet Union, making him responsible for publishing the complete works of Marx and Engels, researching socialist theory and the international working-class movement, and spreading Marxism among the masses. Later, he fell victim to persecution by the Stalinist regime, was arrested in 1937 for “right-wing Trotskyism,” and sentenced to death in early 1938.
His goal in this lecture series is to apply the methods of historical materialism to Marx and Engels themselves. The lectures are easy to follow, Marx and Engels' methodology is taught and explained from a Marxist perspective, showing that Marxism is a product of its time and historical circumstances.