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Primary sourceNewspaper article1897 (letters written 1853-1856)

The Eastern Question: Letters on the Crimean War

Karl Marx · 1897 (letters written 1853-1856)

A collection of Marx's newspaper letters from 1853-1856 on the Crimean War and Eastern European diplomacy.

These are Marx's own newspaper letters on the Crimean War, later collected and published by his daughter.

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The Eastern Question: Letters on the Crimean War
Karl Marx, The Eastern Question: A Reprint of Letters Written 1853-1856, ed. Eleanor Marx Aveling and Edward Aveling, 1897.

About this source

What it is

This book reprints letters written by Karl Marx between 1853 and 1856 dealing with the Crimean War and the diplomatic 'Eastern Question'. It was edited after his death by his daughter Eleanor Marx Aveling and her partner Edward Aveling, and published in London in 1897.

Why it matters

The letters show Marx working as a journalist, commenting on a major European war and the politics surrounding it as it unfolded. The involvement of his daughter in editing and introducing the volume also shows how his family preserved and shaped his legacy after his death.

Look closer

  • Why might Marx's daughter have chosen to publish these letters decades after they were written?
  • What does writing for a newspaper tell you about who Marx expected to read his views on the war?
  • What might be missing from letters written quickly for publication rather than private reflection?

This newspaper article is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Karl Marx on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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