Poremskii, Vladimir

Teorii revoliutsii v usloviiakh totalitarnogo rezhima ('Molekuliarnaia teoriia') [Theories of Revolution under a Totalitarian Regime ('The Molecular Theory')]

Izdanie rossiiskikh solidartistov, 1949. Item #1396

74 pages. 21 cm. Original printed wrappers. Wrappers worn, faded, and detached from the text block, with light stains and creasing; spine reinforced with archival tape; internally clean.

A scarce second edition of a foundational text in the political philosophy of the NTS (National Alliance of Russian Solidarists), written by Vladimir Dmitrievich Poremskii (1909–1997), chemist, political émigré, and for eighteen years the organization’s chairman and principal ideologue. Issued in 1949 by Russian émigrés in a displaced persons (DP) camp, this mimeographed brochure outlines the conceptual basis of what would become known as the “Molecular Theory of Revolution.” Rejecting the model of mass uprisings, Poremskii proposed a strategy of decentralized, individually motivated acts of resistance within a totalitarian system—methods that foreshadowed later dissident movements within the Soviet Union.

The work is identified as a “second, though nearly unchanged edition,” first published in April 1949 “for an extremely limited circle of readers.” The preface discusses the author’s intention to eventually prepare a more comprehensive version in response to accumulated critiques and new ideas. However, he acknowledges the urgent need to circulate the existing material for discussion and encourages further correspondence and contributions to expand the theoretical foundation. The pamphlet’s explicitly unfinished and exploratory nature gives it a unique place in the intellectual genealogy of Russian anti-totalitarian thought.

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