The article is devoted to the well-known Russian public figure and philosopher N. I. Turgenev. For public his name is known primarily as one of the participants in the movement of the Decembrists. However, the scope of its activity is much wider. N. I. Turgenev’s personality insufficiently assessed and covered in Russian historiography. The authors reviewed the pre-revolutionary, Soviet and contemporary works of local scholars on the N. I. Turgenev. On the basis of the analysis of the key works (...) of pre-revolutionary historiography, it is stated that the main approaches to the study of the contribution of N. I. Turgenev in Russian social thought, an assessment of his views on the peasant question were formed during this period. The authors of the article connect the reduction of interest to Turgenev personality in Soviet historiography with his liberal views and aspirations. This fact was not compatible with the official way of the Decembrists created by Soviet historians. The authors note the increased interest to the personality of N. I. Turgenev in the post-Soviet historiography. It is explained in part by increase of the interest to the general problems of society and the development of the Russian state in the nineteenth century, as well as the history of the Decembrist movement. The authors paid attention to the Lotman concept of a special type of behavior characterizing representatives of aristocratic intellectuals. The authors also consider the views of historian V. S. Parsamov on the influence of the French public opinion on the formation of the N. I. Turgenev’s liberal concept. Overall, the authors conclude that, despite the fact that the life and work of N. I. Turgenev largely studied, his findings and assessments on the state of Russian society of the nineteenth century, the factors and the degree of influence on the representatives of the liberation movement in Russia of European political theory, and experience of reforms are not reviewed and require further analysis. (shrink)

L’article étudie comment les idées de la France des Lumières et de la France révolutionnaire ont contribué au changement de la langue sociopolitique russe, comment elles ont interféré avec le processus littéraire du romantisme en Russie et ont finalement contribué au changement du paradigme intellectuel en Russie dans la deuxième moitié du XIXe siècle. L’histoire des concepts de citoyen, de société, d’opposition politique est retracée de la deuxième moitié du XVIIIe siècle – à travers des documents officiels (Instructions, par Catherine (...) II), des textes littéraires (A. Radichtchev) – jusqu’au premier tiers du XIXe siècle – à travers les écrits politiques des décembristes. En conclusion, il est soutenu que l’échec du républicanisme des décembristes inspiré par la France des Lumières a orienté, dans la deuxième moitié du XIXe siècle, la pensée russe vers la problématique de la diversité humaine et de la nationalisation de l’Empire. Les principes universels du siècle des Lumières sont remplacés par l’intérêt porté à la diversité humaine de l’Empire russe, ce qui nécessitera, à son tour, l’élaboration d’un langage spécifique et de ses concepts. Cependant, ce tournant serait une conséquence du processus de réception des idées et des concepts de la France des Lumières et aurait été accéléré par la Révolution française. (shrink)

In the heroic chronicle of Russia's revolutionary movement, the Decembrists - representatives of the first stage of that movement - hold a special place. The boldness of the initiative they displayed, the self-sacrifice of the heroes who rose in struggle against the autocracy, the at least partly conscious intention of creating - albeit at the price of their own lives! - a historic precedent: all this compels one to look closely at the moral content of their activity. The significance (...) of the moral factor in the historical experience of Decembrism is determined by yet another noteworthy circumstance: the finest members of the nobility were rising against the privileges of their own class. This feature was noted by Herzen when he wrote that this movement included members of the wealthiest and most famous noble families of Russia, and that "Pestel' proposed to them that they seek, even at the cost of their lives, the expropriation of their own estates.". (shrink)

The present text aims at mapping out a synopsis of the main political parties from Romania after 1989 on the one hand, and at pointing out the way in which their activity interferes with religion, on the other hand. To this point we have endeavored to place emphasis on the role played by the church within the Romanian society, as well as the main paths of influence the clerical representatives may exert upon the political life, occasionally voluntarily, yet involuntarily for (...) the most part. (shrink)

Aleksandr Pushkin (1799-1837) occupies a special place in the development of Russian culture. He was at the same time a great poet, the reformer of Russian literary language, a historian and a political thinker. In the enormous mass of work devoted to Pushkin, a certain number of articles are concerned with his ideas on economics and the reflection of socio-economic problems in his writing. Until now, however, this theme has been studied in only a fragmentary way and less from the (...) point of view of the professional economist than from that of a literary historian. In an attempt to enlarge and complete the idea we may have of Pushkin's economic views, I propose also to show the importance the politico-economic thought of Western Europe had for his work. One person comes to the fore when we study the subject from this angle: Nikolai Turgenev, a Decembrist, one of the “masters” of the poet's youth, who played an important role in the rapprochement of Russian and Western European cultures. (shrink)

At present, large teams are at work in virtually all branches of Soviet historical scholarship writing major works of synthesis that present the results of long years of research into the history of literature, economic and political thought, ethics, esthetics, philosophy, and sociology. These works deal with currents that have played any significant role whatever in the history of Russian thought. The greatest attention is given to the Decembrists, the Revolutionary Democrats, the Narodniks, and the Russian Marxists. These trends (...) in the intellectual and socio-political movements have been studied in greater or lesser detail, with the exception perhaps of the Narodnik movement, to which, however, the attention of many historians is now being directed. (shrink)

Continuing the exploration of a theme that has figured prominently in previous issues of this journal, articles translated for the present issue illuminate various aspects of the fate of philosophy in twentieth-century Russia. The development of philosophy in Russia has encountered extraordinary institutional obstacles for nearly two centuries. Following the Decembrist Revolt of 1825, the tsarist authorities banned the teaching of philosophy in university classrooms as a potential source of revolutionary ideas. The ban was partially modified in 1863 only to (...) permit commentary on certain specified texts of ancient philosophy and was not lifted until 1889. During the 1920s, the Bolsheviks in authority gradually enforced increasingly strict ideological controls on the teaching and publishing of philosophy, so that by the early 1930s no doctrine other than the Marxist-Leninist orthodoxy could be taught or advocated in print. (shrink)

This article discusses Leo Tolstoy’s view of the Russian revolutionary movement. Taking as a focal point the writer’s lifelong interest in the Decembrist uprising of 1825 and particularly in the personalities of the gentry revolutionaries, the article argues that Tolstoy’s fascination for these figures was due to their superior moral qualities, rather than to their political and socioeconomic doctrines. Following Alexander Herzen, Tolstoy came to regard the Decembrists as full-fledged individualities and “beautiful souls”. Thus, Tolstoy’s much debated “conversion” and (...) subsequent attempts to transform literary art into a medium of religious and moral reform can also be viewed as extensions of his project of self-understanding and self-formation according to the model of kalokagathia provided by Russia’s aristocratic revolutionaries. (shrink)

This article discusses Leo Tolstoy’s view of the Russian revolutionary movement. Taking as a focal point the writer’s lifelong interest in the Decembrist uprising of 1825 and particularly in the personalities of the gentry revolutionaries, the article argues that Tolstoy’s fascination for these figures was due to their superior moral qualities, rather than to their political and socioeconomic doctrines. Following Alexander Herzen, Tolstoy came to regard the Decembrists as full-fledged individualities and “beautiful souls”. Thus, Tolstoy’s much debated “conversion” and (...) subsequent attempts to transform literary art into a medium of religious and moral reform can also be viewed as extensions of his project of self-understanding and self-formation according to the model of kalokagathia provided by Russia’s aristocratic revolutionaries. (shrink)

Known today mostly as an author of Romantic short stories and fairy tales for children, Prince Vladimir Odoyevskiy was a distinguished thinker of his time, philosopher and bibliophile. The scope of his interests includes also history of magic arts and alchemy, German Romanticism, Church music. An attempt to understand the peculiarity of eight specific modes used in chants of Russian Orthodox Church led him to his own musical theory based upon well-known writings by Zarlino, Leibniz, Euler, Prony. He realized his (...) theoretical ideas in an enharmonical piano with nineteen notes for every octave. His call for a different musical scale remained largely ignored in the nineteenth century, until the topic was raised anew by twentieth-century composers and musicians. (shrink)

The author analyses the context and reasons for the change in Pushkin's understanding of history. The idea of Russia's special path, disagreement with the Decembrists, and the appeal to the history and personality of Peter I led to the evolution of the poet's views to anti-violent and, in fact, pessimistic attitudes.