Marx and Engels, as pure materialists, did not understand the essence of the Kantian "thing-in-itself", as well as all else otherworldly, considering in the depths of their souls this as opium for the people. Nevertheless, they were interested to find out what this mysterious "thing-in-itself" is. It was impossible to ask Kant - he died long ago. So, they had to go to the wisest of all still living idealists Leo Tolstoy with this question. He looked at them with regret, and said: "For you simplistically: this is a thing, which has not yet reached up to us, but there is hope that it will reach."
The time has come for Marx and Engels to die. And they have wondered - is there life after death? They went again to Count Leo Tolstoy for an answer. He says to them: "I, of course, have not been there, but I believe that in order to die, one must be born. This means that after death you have to wait for birth and etc.". They liked this answer and, thanking Tolstoy, having said to him in parting: "If anything happens, we will come to you again, maybe even from the other world. Alas, but materialism has no answers to some questions".
Russian social-democrat Georgy Plekhanov tried to figure out what is the real role of the individual in history? It seemed to him that one could not do without personality, and without the action of the masses, it would also be impossible to move history. And he turned, even though he was an unbeliever, to God - there was no one else - everyone doubted - even Count Leo Tolstoy, although he gravitated more towards the masses. And then Georgy Valentinovich saw in the clouds a written phrase: "Personalities appear in history so rarely that history does not suffer pretty much from them, but, in particular, - very even!"