Who doesn't Know Lenin? Review of the Monograph by V.M. Syrykh " Unknown Lenin: the Theory of the Socialist State (Without Prejudice and Servility)" (Moscow: Yurlitinform, 2017. 520 p.)

The review presents the authors' view on the scientific work by V.M. Syrykh "Unknown Lenin: The Theory of the Socialist State (Without Prejudice and Servility)". The structure of the book and its theoretical and practical potential are evaluated from the standpoint of the critical approach. The authors show V.M. Syrykh as one of the few major specialists in the field of Marxist theory of law and State who has earned this status due to her numerous and large-scale publications. The book is a multifaceted test that is able to attract the attention of jurists, historians, political analysts, eminent and young scholars. According to the authors, V.M. Syrykh failed to provide an impartial approach to the analysis of the documents and materials relating to the era of construction of the Socialist State. However, the expressed sympathy for the leaders of the October revolution and their ideas reflects her scientific rather than political bias. The author of the monograph shows her sharply negative attitude to the critics of the Marxist-Leninist doctrines, believing that their approach is contrary to the principle of historicism. V.M. Syrykh states that any attempt of ahistorical analysis by D. Volkogonov and E. Rosina leads the researchers away from the realities of the time. To meet the methodological requirements (note that V.M. Syrykh's PhD thesis and doctoral dissertation are devoted to the problems of the methodology of cognition), she extensively supports her book with the primary sources of law, which makes it highly significant for understanding the processes of formation of the Socialist State. However, such a plentiful citation has a downside, threatening to turn the study into a paradigmatic textbook. The authors of the review believe that more (than it is present in the peer-reviewed edition) emphasis on historical criticism of sources would help to avoid the slightest hint of such a suspicion.

The October revolution, Lenin, legal system, theory of the Socialist State, legal sources, principle of historicism