Starlin's Interpretation of Marxism

The test of a doctrine is not its compatibility with some abstract or text book formula, but its success in practice. A marxist explanation leaves no room for the notion of the cult of personality. In explaining starlinism, liberal historians are in a much stronger position than marxists. Once the communist party had seized power, no alternative path was possible. Some liberals find themselves in a similar sort of difficulty to that of marxists in explaining the course of twentieth century russian history.