Solov'ëv's Middle Years

This monograph is on Vladimir Solov'ëv's middle years, basically the 1880s, as he polemically combated those who understood Slavophilism as a nationalism and/or rejected his belief in ecumenicalism. Nemeth first traces the emergence of Slavophilism, followed then by successive studies of Solov'ëv's polemical engagement with other prominent figures in Russian intellectual life, such as Ivan Aksakov and Aleksandr Kireev. The thesis behind the book -- apart from filling in the biographical gap left by the author's previous two books (early and late Solov'ëv) -- is that original Slavophilism transformed after the first generation into advocating a form of nationalism that one can say was even a chauvinism. Although the proponents of this "Late Slavophilism" were still personally deeply committed to Russian Orthodoxy, the emphasis here was on the word "Russian," not Orthodoxy. Solov'ëv took a different view emphasizing the Orthodoxy of original Slavophilism, largely at the expense of nationalism, which he took to be a form of national egoism. Whereas many of the "Late Slavophiles" viewed Russia as a civilization quite distinct, even in instances, hostile to the West, Solov'ëv retained the view that Russia had a distinct, even prominent, role yet to play in world history, namely by helping to usher into the world the Kingdom of God. Regrettably, Solov'ëv did not elaborate very clearly what this Kingdom would look like were it realized. This volume will appeal to researchers and students working in the history, philosophy, and religion of 19th century Russian thought.