The Eastern question in Russian publicism: From philosophy to politics

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the so-called Eastern question in Russian philosophical publicism covering the period of the second half of the 19th and the first two decades of the 20th century. This complicated question was especially relevant at this stage of Russian history. The Eastern question traditionally involves such issues as military rivalry in the Balkans and in the Caucasus, the struggle for freedom of navigation and trade in the Black Sea waters including the Bosporus and the Dardanelles, and the ability to control Constantinople as well as some other areas of the Middle East important for the interests of the Russian Empire. The article considers key ideas and views on the past, present and future of the Eastern question of such Russian thinkers as F. I. Tyutchev, N. Ya. Danilevsky, F. M. Dostoevsky, K. N. Leontiev, S. Ya. Elpatyevsky, E. N. Trubetskoy, P. N. Milyukov and others. A highly important aspect of the Eastern question, constantly reflected in the leading domestic academic and educational journals, was the theme of Russia’s relations with the Slavic world. The “Slavic question” was among the main themes of Russian journalism for many decades. The fate of Constantinople has always had a special place in the study and interpretation of the Eastern question by Russian intellectuals. Understanding of the unique symbolic significance of this Great city on the banks of the Bosporus as the spiritual center of the Orthodox-Byzantine civilization was widely reflected in the Russian philosophical journalism of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Having reached its highest point in the years of the First World War the discussion of the Eastern question in Russian philosophical journalism has lost its relevance once the Soviet rule was established.