BULGAKOV, SERGEI (1871-1944), Russian economist, philosopher, theologian, and Russian Orthodox priest. Sergei Nikolaevich was born in Livny, province of Orel, less than fifty years before the revolutions of 1917. The son of a Russian Orthodox priest, Bulgakov was raised in a pious Orthodox home. Following his early formal education, he was enrolled in the theological seminary in Orel Province, which he left shortly thereafter for secular studies. A convinced atheist, at age nineteen he enrolled in the law school of the University of Moscow. By the time of his graduation in 1894 he was a committed and enthusiastic Marxist, with a special interest in political economy. His master's thesis on the relationship of capitalism and agriculture was published in 1900.

In 1901 Bulgakov was appointed to the faculty of the Polytechnic Institute of Kiev as a political economist. During his tenure there he began to have doubts about Marxism both...