The Russian Idea (Library of Russian Philosophy) - Softcover

Berdyaev, Nikolai

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0940262495 ISBN 13: 9780940262492

Publisher: Lindisfarne Books, 1992

Synopsis

In this powerful, moving book, first published in 1946, Berdyaev is not so interested in the empirical details of Russian history as he is in “the thought of the Creator about Russia.” The "Russian idea" is thus a mystical notion. Religion and philosophy―not economics or politics―determine history and society.

Berdyaev begins his story in the nineteenth century, tracing the lineage of such powerful artists and thinkers as Chaadev, Khomyakov, Kireevksy, Leontyev, Aksakov, Hertzen, and Bakunin, all of whom struggled to integrate the polarities of East and West, spirit and matter, and male and female in the Russian soul. That soul, however, is so immense, boundless, and vague that it is incapable of settling for "the halfway kingdom of culture." Demanding all or nothing―alternately apocalyptic and nihilistic―Russians strove to justify culture and discover Russia's mystical mission.

Impatient with the slow pace of history, distrusting all authority, and yet haunted by a vision of unity, thinkers such as Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Federov, and Solovyov created an original and vital religious philosophy that culminated in the Russian renaissance at the beginning of the twentieth century. The fruit of these great figures―of whom Berdyaev was one (others included Florensky, Bulgakov, Rozanov, Merezhkovsky, Blok, and Bely)―was cut short by the 1917 Revolution.

More recently, their works have been available in self-published (Samizdat) editions. A great philosophical and spiritual rebirth was occurring underground. Now they are available again in this book, which is essential reading for an understanding of the new Russia.

About this title

About the Author:

Christopher Bamford is Editor in Chief for SteinerBooks and its imprints. A Fellow of the Lindisfarne Association, he has lectured, taught, and written widely on Western spiritual and esoteric traditions. He is the author of The Voice of the Eagle: The Heart of Celtic Christianity (1990) and An Endless Trace: The Passionate Pursuit of Wisdom in the West(2003). He has also translated and edited numerous books, including Celtic Christianity: Ecology and Holiness (1982);Homage to Pythagoras: Rediscovering Sacred Science; and The Noble Traveller: The Life and Writings of O. V. de L. Milosz (all published by Lindisfarne Books).

Language Notes:

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian

About this edition

• Publisher: Lindisfarne Books
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0940262495
• ISBN 13: 9780940262492
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288