After the defeat of Napoleon, Russia was firmly entrenched on the international scene as a world power. Although still considered to be rural and rather backward compared to the other members of the Holy Alliance, Russia had begun a shift towards Westernization during the reigns of Peter and Catherine the Great. Both rulers sent Russians abroad to learn Western culture and these individuals returned to the mother country to spread Western ideas. With the commencement of the 19th century, Russia had developed a division within its own borders on whether they were European or a unique Slavic nation. These two main schools of thought were called Slavophiles and Westernizers.
The Slavophiles championed, “an ideology out of desire for love, harmony and religion. These romantic thinkers were the ultimate defenders of all things uniquely Russian, especially the Orthdox church” (Westgate, n.d.). On the other end of the spectrum were the Westernizers. These individuals felt exactly the opposite. Rather than “seeing Russia’s future lying in traditions, the Westernizers sought to challenge religion, society and the entire political system of Russia and adopt those of Western Europe” (Westgate, n.d). Although the two schools of thought had developed over a considerable amount of time, the schism became readily apparent in 1829 when Peter Chaadayev published his “Philosophical Letters”. It merely was read by Russian intellectuals until it was fully publicized by the journal Teleskop in 1836. At this time, the divisions within the elite levels of Russian society on whether they should embrace European ways or remain aloof, steeped in their history as well as culture came to the fore.
Use your promo and get a custom paper on
"Russian Schools of Thought".
- Steib, Murray. Ed. (1999). Reader’s Guide to Music: History, Theory and Criticism. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers.
- Westgate, Sasha. (n.d.) Slavophilism and Westernism in 19th Century Russia. Kent.edu. Web. Accessed January 30, 2015 from http://www.personal.kent.edu/~swestga1/SlavophilismWesternism19century.pdf.
