Philosophical and pedagogical views of S. S. Uvarov

Abstract

S. S. Uvarov was one key person in the Russian government from the 1830s to the 1850s, heading the Ministry of Public Education for sixteen years in succession. There is a rich body of literature evaluating his activity that is often negatively viewed, especially considering the opinion of Soviet-era scholars. Consequently, a more objective assessment of Uvarov’s policies, devoid of ideological clichés, is warranted. The theoretical basis of his activity was grounded in philosophical and political views, and an analysis reveals not only the minister’s level of intelligence, but also to what extent his ideas were realized. Historico-logical and comparative research methods reveal the place of Uvarov’s concepts on social thinking in Russia and his originality vis-à-vis foreign and domestic thinkers. Concerning philosophy, Uvarov aimed at uniting “metaphysics efforts and religion’,” the alliance of which he was certain would provide an opportunity to correctly understand human nature and to create an adequate history of philosophy. The key formula of the latter for explaining the specificity of Russian history is his famous triad of orthodoxy, autocracy, and nationality. The primary goal of education, as the minister stressed, is to solve two tasks: to introduce students to modern and scientific knowledge, and to raise them in compliance with the “national spirit.”