THE renowned philosopher, writer and Oxford scholar Leszek Kolakowski has died, aged 81.

Prof Kolakowski, a former Fellow of All Souls College, was considered a hugely influential figure in Poland where his denouncement of Marxism made him an inspiration for Poland’s struggle against communism.

He came to Oxford in 1970 after he was expelled from Warsaw University for his involvement in demonstrations against the Stalinist regime.

Born on October 23, 1927, Mr Kolakowski’s family suffered greatly under the Nazi occupation and his father was killed by the Gestapo.

With the country’s schools closed down, Mr Kolakowski had to continue studying on his own and attended an underground high school.

After the war he joined the Polish Communist youth organisation and later graduated from Lodz University before taking a doctorate at the University of Warsaw.

However, he soon grew disillusioned with communist ideology after a visit to Moscow in 1950 and began to write journals and books appealing for a more democratic version of socialism, which were banned. Written more than 50 years ago, his 72 definitions of What Socialism is Not – was banned but widely read underground.

After a university lecture in 1966, in which Mr Kolakowski accused authorities of breaking promises to the Polish people, he was expelled from the Communist party.

Two years later he was stripped of his professorship before being forced into exile in Montreal, later becoming a research fellow in Oxford.

In Oxford in 1978, Mr Kolakowski wrote his best known works, the three- volume Main Currents of Marxism, widely considered to be one of the most important books on political theory of the 20th century.

In 2003 Mr Kolakowski, of Hamilton Road, Summertown, became the first person to have bestowed upon him the John W Kluge prize for a lifetime achievement in humanities.

The award came with a $1m prize.

The Polish Parliament held a minute’s silence for Mr Kolakowski on news of his death and he is to be buried with military honours in his homeland. A requiem mass will also be held in his honour at Holy Rood Church, in Abingdon Road, on Saturday.

Mr Kolakowski is survived by his wife Tamara and a daughter.