Russian philosophy includes a variety of
philosophical movements
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
. Authors who developed them are listed below sorted by movement.
While most authors listed below are primarily
philosophers
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
, also included here are some
Russian fiction writers, such as
Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
and
Dostoyevsky
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...
, who are also known as philosophers.
Russian
philosophy as a separate entity started its development in the
19th century, defined initially by the opposition of
Westernizers
Westernizers (; russian: За́падник, Západnik, p=ˈzapədnʲɪk) were a group of 19th-century intellectuals who believed that Russia's development depended upon the adoption of Western European technology and liberal government. In their v ...
, advocating Russia's following the Western political and economical models, and
Slavophiles
Slavophilia (russian: Славянофильство) was an intellectual movement originating from the 19th century that wanted the Russian Empire to be developed on the basis of values and institutions derived from Russia's early history. Slavoph ...
, insisting on developing
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
as a unique civilization. The latter group included
Nikolai Danilevsky and
Konstantin Leontiev
Konstantin Nikolayevich Leontiev, monastic name: Clement (russian: Константи́н Никола́евич Лео́нтьев; January 25, 1831 in Kudinovo, Kaluga Governorate – November 24, 1891 in Sergiyev Posad) was a conservative tsa ...
, the early founders of
eurasianism
Eurasianism (russian: евразийство, ''yevraziystvo'') is a political movement in Russia which states that Russian civilization does not belong in the "European" or "Asian" categories but instead to the geopolitical concept of Eurasia, ...
. The discussion of Russia's place in the world has since become the most characteristic feature of Russian philosophy.
In its further development, Russian philosophy was also marked by deep connection to
literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
and interest in
creativity
Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is formed. The created item may be intangible (such as an idea, a scientific theory, a musical composition, or a joke) or a physical object (such as an invention, a printed Literature ...
,
society
A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soci ...
,
politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...
and
nationalism
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
;
cosmos
The cosmos (, ) is another name for the Universe. Using the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity.
The cosmos, and understandings of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in ...
and
religion
Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...
were other notable subjects.
Notable philosophers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries include
Vladimir Solovyev,
Vasily Rozanov
Vasily Vasilievich Rozanov (russian: Васи́лий Васи́льевич Рóзанов; – 5 February 1919) was one of the most controversial Russian writers and important philosophers in the symbolists' of the pre-revolutionary epoch ...
,
Lev Shestov
Lev Isaakovich Shestov (russian: Лев Исаа́кович Шесто́в; 31 January .S. 13 February 1866 – 19 November 1938), born Yehuda Leib Shvartsman (russian: Иегуда Лейб Шварцман), was a Russian existentialist and re ...
,
Leo Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
,
Sergei Bulgakov
Sergei Nikolaevich Bulgakov (; russian: Серге́й Никола́евич Булга́ков; – 13 July 1944) was a Russian Orthodox theologian, priest, philosopher, and economist.
Biography
Early life: 1871–1898
Sergei Nikolaevich B ...
,
Pavel Florensky
Pavel Alexandrovich Florensky (also P. A. Florenskiĭ, Florenskii, Florenskij; russian: Па́вел Алекса́ндрович Флоре́нский; hy, Պավել Ֆլորենսկի, Pavel Florenski; – December 8, 1937) was a Russian O ...
,
Nikolai Berdyaev,
Pitirim Sorokin
Pitirim Alexandrovich Sorokin (; russian: Питири́м Алекса́ндрович Соро́кин; – 10 February 1968) was a Russian American sociologist and political activist, who contributed to the social cycle theory.
Background
...
, and
Vladimir Vernadsky
Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky (russian: link=no, Влади́мир Ива́нович Верна́дский) or Volodymyr Ivanovych Vernadsky ( uk, Володи́мир Іва́нович Верна́дський; – 6 January 1945) was ...
.
From the early 1920s to late 1980s, Russian philosophy was dominated by
Marxism
Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialectical ...
presented as
dogma
Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Isla ...
and not grounds for discussion. Stalin's purges, culminating in 1937, delivered a deadly blow to the development of philosophy.
A handful of dissident philosophers survived through the
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
period, among them
Aleksei Losev. Stalin's death in 1953 gave way for new schools of thought to spring up, among them Moscow Logic Circle, and
Tartu-Moscow Semiotic School.
Major thinkers
Russian Enlightenment
The Russian Age of Enlightenment was a period in the 18th century in which the government began to actively encourage the proliferation of arts and sciences, which had a profound impact on Russian culture. During this time, the first Russian unive ...
*
Vasily Tatishchev
Vasily Nikitich Tatishchev (russian: Васи́лий Ники́тич Тати́щев) (19 April 1686 – 15 July 1750) was a prominent Russian Imperial statesman, historian, philosopher, and ethnographer, best remembered as the author of the ...
(1686–1750)
*
Gregory Skovoroda (1722–1794)
*
Mikhail Shcherbatov
Prince Mikhailo Mikhailovich Shcherbatov (russian: Михаи́л Миха́йлович Щерба́тов; 22 July 1733 – 12 December 1790) was a leading ideologue and exponent of the Russian Enlightenment, on the par with Mikhail Lomonosov a ...
(1733–1790)
*
Andrey Bolotov
Andrey Timofeyevich Bolotov (18 October 1738 – 16 October 1833) was the most prolific memoirist and the most distinguished agriculturist of the 18th-century Russian Empire.
Bolotov was born and spent most of his adult life in the family esta ...
(1738–1833)
*
Alexander Radishchev
Alexander Nikolayevich Radishchev (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Ради́щев; – ) was a Russian author and social critic who was arrested and exiled under Catherine the Great. He brought the tradition of radicali ...
(1749–1802)
Slavophiles and
pochvennichestvo
''Pochvennichestvo'' (; rus, Почвенничество, p=ˈpot͡ɕvʲɪnnʲɪt͡ɕɪstvə, roughly "return to the native soil", from почва "soil") was a late 19th-century movement in Russia that tied in closely with its contemporary i ...
*
Ivan Kireyevsky (1806–1856)
*
Aleksey Khomyakov (1804–1860)
*
Vladimir Odoyevsky
Prince Vladimir Fyodorovich Odoyevsky (russian: Влади́мир Фёдорович Одо́евский, p=ɐˈdojɪfskʲɪj; Владимир Федорович Одоевский. Библиографический указатель. Энц ...
(1803–1869)
*
Konstantin Aksakov (1817–1860)
*
Yuri Samarin
Yuri Fyodorovich Samarin (russian: Ю́рий Фёдорович Сама́рин; May 3, 1819, Saint Petersburg – March 31, 1876, Berlin) was a leading Russian Slavophile thinker and one of the architects of the Emancipation reform of 1861.
He ...
(1819–1876)
*
Fyodor Tyutchev (1803–1873)
*
Nikolay Danilevsky
Nikolay Yakovlevich Danilevsky (russian: Никола́й Я́ковлевич Даниле́вский; 28 November 1822 – 7 November 1885) was a Russian Empire naturalist, economist, ethnologist, philosopher, historian and ideologue of Pan ...
(1822–1885)
*
Nikolay Strakhov
Nikolay Nikolayevich Strakhov, also transliterated as ''Nikolai Strahov'' (; October 16, 1828 – January 24, 1896), was a Russian philosopher, publicist, journalist and literary critic. He shared the ideals of Pochvennichestvo and was a longtim ...
(1828–1896)
*
Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821–1881) ''Religious philosopher artist (see
Nikolai Berdyaev)''
*
Konstantin Pobedonostsev
Konstantin Petrovich Pobedonostsev ( rus, Константи́н Петро́вич Победоно́сцев, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ pəbʲɪdɐˈnostsɨf; 30 November 1827 – 23 March 1907) was a Russian jurist, statesman ...
(1827–1907)
*
Konstantin Leontiev
Konstantin Nikolayevich Leontiev, monastic name: Clement (russian: Константи́н Никола́евич Лео́нтьев; January 25, 1831 in Kudinovo, Kaluga Governorate – November 24, 1891 in Sergiyev Posad) was a conservative tsa ...
(1831–1891)
*
Ivan Ilyin
Ivan Alexandrovich Ilyin or Il'in (Ива́н Алекса́ндрович Ильи́н, – 21 December 1954) was a Russian jurist, a dogmatic religious and political philosopher, an orator and conservative monarchist. He perceived the Febru ...
(1883–1954)
Russian symbolists
*
Dmitry Merezhkovsky
Dmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky ( rus, Дми́трий Серге́евич Мережко́вский, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪrʲɪˈʂkofskʲɪj; – December 9, 1941) was a Russian novelist, poet, religious thinker, ...
(1866–1941)
*
Zinaida Gippius
Zinaida Nikolayevna Gippius (Hippius) (; – 9 September 1945) was a Russian poet, playwright, novelist, editor and religious thinker, one of the major figures in Russian symbolism. The story of her marriage to Dmitry Merezhkovsky, which laste ...
(1869–1945)
*
Valery Bryusov
Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov ( rus, Вале́рий Я́ковлевич Брю́сов, p=vɐˈlʲerʲɪj ˈjakəvlʲɪvʲɪdʑ ˈbrʲusəf, a=Valyeriy Yakovlyevich Bryusov.ru.vorb.oga; – 9 October 1924) was a Russian poet, prose writer, drama ...
(1873–1924)
*
Konstantin Balmont
Konstantin Dmitriyevich Balmont ( rus, Константи́н Дми́триевич Бальмо́нт, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin ˈdmʲitrʲɪjɪvʲɪdʑ bɐlʲˈmont, a=Konstantin Dmitriyevich Bal'mont.ru.vorb.oga; – 23 December 1942) was a Rus ...
(1867–1942)
*
Max Voloshin (1877–1932)
*
Vsevolod Meyerhold
Vsevolod Emilyevich Meyerhold (russian: Всеволод Эмильевич Мейерхольд, translit=Vsévolod Èmíl'evič Mejerchól'd; born german: Karl Kasimir Theodor Meyerhold; 2 February 1940) was a Russian and Soviet theatre ...
(1874–1940)
*
Alexander Blok
Alexander Alexandrovich Blok ( rus, Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Бло́к, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ ˈblok, a=Ru-Alyeksandr Alyeksandrovich Blok.oga; 7 August 1921) was a Russian lyrical poet, writer, publ ...
(1880–1921)
*
Andrei Bely
Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev ( rus, Бори́с Никола́евич Буга́ев, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ bʊˈɡajɪf, a=Boris Nikolayevich Bugayev.ru.vorb.oga), better known by the pen name Andrei Bely or Biely ( rus, Андр ...
(1880–1934)
*
Vyacheslav Ivanov (1866–1949)
*
Innokenty Annensky (1855–1909)
*
Fyodor Sologub
Fyodor Sologub (russian: Фёдор Сологу́б, born Fyodor Kuzmich Teternikov, russian: Фёдор Кузьми́ч Тете́рников, also known as Theodor Sologub; – 5 December 1927) was a Russian Symbolist poet, novelist, transl ...
(1863–1927)
*
Georgy Chulkov (1879–1939)
Westernizer
Westernizers (; russian: За́падник, Západnik, p=ˈzapədnʲɪk) were a group of 19th-century intellectuals who believed that Russia's development depended upon the adoption of Western European technology and liberal government. In their ...
s
*
Pyotr Chaadayev
Pyotr or Petr Yakovlevich Chaadayev (russian: Пётр Я́ковлевич Чаада́ев; also spelled Chaadaev, or Čaadajev; 7 June 7 May Old Style">Old_Style.html" ;"title="7 May Old Style">7 May Old Style1794 – 26 April 4 April O.S.
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
In mathematics
Four is the smallest c ...
...
(1794–1856)
*
Nikolai Stankevich
Nikolai Vladimirovich Stankevich () ( – ) was a Russian public figure, philosopher, and poet.
Biography
Nikolay Stankevich was born in Uderevka, Voronezh Governorate, and in 1834 graduated from the Moscow State University, where he was influ ...
(1813–1840)
*
Vissarion Belinsky
Vissarion Grigoryevich Belinsky ( rus, Виссарион Григорьевич БелинскийIn Belinsky's day, his name was written ., Vissarión Grigórʹjevič Belínskij, vʲɪsərʲɪˈon ɡrʲɪˈɡorʲjɪvʲɪdʑ bʲɪˈlʲinskʲ ...
(1811–1848)
*
Alexander Herzen
Alexander Ivanovich Herzen (russian: Алекса́ндр Ива́нович Ге́рцен, translit=Alexándr Ivánovich Gértsen; ) was a Russian writer and thinker known as the "father of Russian socialism" and one of the main fathers of agra ...
(1812–1870) ''Father of Russian Socialism''
Russian Schellingians
*
Pyotr Chaadayev
Pyotr or Petr Yakovlevich Chaadayev (russian: Пётр Я́ковлевич Чаада́ев; also spelled Chaadaev, or Čaadajev; 7 June 7 May Old Style">Old_Style.html" ;"title="7 May Old Style">7 May Old Style1794 – 26 April 4 April O.S.
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
In mathematics
Four is the smallest c ...
...
(1794–1856)
*
Dmitry Venevitinov
Dmitry Vladimirovich Venevitinov (russian: link=no, Дми́трий Влади́мирович Веневи́тинов; – ) was a minor Russian Romantic poet who died (perhaps committed suicide) at the age of 21, carrying with him one of the ...
(1805–1827)
*
Vissarion Belinsky
Vissarion Grigoryevich Belinsky ( rus, Виссарион Григорьевич БелинскийIn Belinsky's day, his name was written ., Vissarión Grigórʹjevič Belínskij, vʲɪsərʲɪˈon ɡrʲɪˈɡorʲjɪvʲɪdʑ bʲɪˈlʲinskʲ ...
(1811–1848)
*
Vladimir Solovyov (1853–1900)
Russian positivists
*
Peter Lavrovich Lavrov
Pyotr Lavrovich Lavrov (russian: Пётр Ла́врович Лавро́в; alias Mirtov (); (June 14 O.S.">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="une 2 Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 1823 – February 6 anuary 6 O.S. 1900) was a ...
(1823–1900)
*
Grigory Vyrubov (1843–1913)
*
Nikolay Mikhaylovsky
Nikolay Konstantinovich Mikhaylovsky () (, Meshchovsk–, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian literary critic, sociologist, writer on public affairs, and one of the theoreticians of the Narodniki movement.
Biography
The school of thinkers he bel ...
(1842–1910)
*
Konstantin Kavelin
Konstantin Dmitrievich Kavelin (russian: Константи́н Дми́триевич Каве́лин; November 4, 1818 – May 5, 1885) was a Russian historian, jurist, and sociologist, sometimes called the chief architect of early Russian lib ...
(1818–1885)
*
Nikolai Korkunov (1853–1904)
Russian Machists
*
Vladimir Bazarov
Vladimir Alexandrovich Bazarov (Russian: Влади́мир Алекса́ндрович База́ров; 8 August Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O._S._27_July.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and Ne ...
*
Jakov Berman Jakov Alexandrovich Berman (Russian: Я́ков Алекса́ндрович Берма́н; 15 January 1868 – 1933) was a Russian philosopher and political theorist linked to Russian Machism and pragmatism.
In 1908 he published ''Dialectics in ...
*
Alexander Bogdanov (1873–1928)
*
Sergei Suvorov Sergei Alexandrovich Suvorov (russian: Сергей Александрович Суворов; 1869 – 15 June 1918) was a Russian statistician, philosopher and revolutionary.
Suvorov was attracted to the revolutionary movement in the 1890s and h ...
*
Pavel Yushkevich
Pavel Solomonovich Yushkevich (russian: Павел Соломонович Юшкевич; 29 June 1873, in Odessa – December 6, 1945, in Moscow) was a Russian people, Russian philosopher. He was a Menshevik activist and participated as one of the ...
Russian cosmists
*
Nikolay Fyodorov (1829–1903) ''N O Lossky lists Fyodorov as primarily a Christian philosopher.''
*
Nicholas Roerich
Nicholas Roerich (; October 9, 1874 – December 13, 1947), also known as Nikolai Konstantinovich Rerikh (russian: link=no, Никола́й Константи́нович Ре́рих), was a Russian painter, writer, archaeologist, theosophi ...
(1874–1947)
*
Vladimir Vernadsky
Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky (russian: link=no, Влади́мир Ива́нович Верна́дский) or Volodymyr Ivanovych Vernadsky ( uk, Володи́мир Іва́нович Верна́дський; – 6 January 1945) was ...
(1863–1945)
*
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky (russian: Константи́н Эдуа́рдович Циолко́вский , , p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin ɪdʊˈardəvʲɪtɕ tsɨɐlˈkofskʲɪj , a=Ru-Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.oga; – 19 September 1935) ...
(1857–1935)
*
Alexander Chizhevsky
Alexander Leonidovich Chizhevsky (russian: Алекса́ндр Леони́дович Чиже́вский, also Aleksandr Leonidovich Tchijevsky) (7 February 1897 – 20 December 1964) was a Soviet-era interdisciplinary scientist, a biophysicist ...
(1897–1964)
*
Evald Ilyenkov
Evald Vassilievich Ilyenkov (russian: link=no, Э́вальд Васи́льевич Илье́нков; 18 February 1924 – 21 March 1979) was a Marxist author and Soviet philosopher.
Biography
Evald Ilyenkov did original work on the mater ...
(1924–1979)
*
Victor Skumin
Victor Andreevich Skumin ( rus, Ви́ктор Андре́евич Ску́мин, p=ˈvʲiktər ɐnˈdrʲejɪvʲɪtɕ ˈskumʲɪn, born 30 August 1948) is a Russian and Soviet scientist, psychiatrist, philosopher and writer.
After graduating ...
(1948–)
Occultists
The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism ...
*
Nikolay Novikov
Nikolay Ivanovich Novikov (russian: Никола́й Ива́нович Новико́в) (, Moscow Governorate – . Moscow Governorate) was a Russian writer and philanthropist most representative of his country's Enlightenment. Frequently cons ...
(1744–1818)
*
Helena Blavatsky
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, uk, Олена Петрівна Блаватська, Olena Petrivna Blavatska (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian mystic and author who co-founded the Theosophical Society in 187 ...
(1831–1891)
*
G. I. Gurdjieff (1872–1949)
*
P. D. Ouspensky (1878–1947)
Epistemologists
Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics.
Episte ...
,
logic
Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premise ...
ians and
metaphysicians
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...
*
Boris Chicherin
Boris Nikolayevich Chicherin (russian: Бори́с Никола́евич Чиче́рин) ( 1828 – 1904) was a Russian jurist and political philosopher, who worked out a theory that Russia needed a strong, authoritative government to perseve ...
(1828–1904)
*
S. N. Trubetskoy (1862–1905)
Narodniks
The Narodniks (russian: народники, ) were a politically conscious movement of the Russian intelligentsia in the 1860s and 1870s, some of whom became involved in revolutionary agitation against tsarism. Their ideology, known as Narodism, ...
*
Alexander Herzen
Alexander Ivanovich Herzen (russian: Алекса́ндр Ива́нович Ге́рцен, translit=Alexándr Ivánovich Gértsen; ) was a Russian writer and thinker known as the "father of Russian socialism" and one of the main fathers of agra ...
(1812–1870) ''Father of Russian Socialism''
*
Nikolai Tchaikovsky
Nikolai Vasilyevich Tchaikovsky (7 January 1851 Adoption_of_the_Gregorian_calendar#Adoption_in_Eastern_Europe.html" ;"title="/nowiki> O.S._26_December_1850.html" ;"title="Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe">O.S. 26 De ...
(1851–1926)
*
Pyotr Lavrov
Pyotr Lavrovich Lavrov (russian: Пётр Ла́врович Лавро́в; alias Mirtov (); (June 14 O.S.">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="une 2 Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 1823 – February 6 anuary 6 O.S. 1900) was a ...
(1823–1900)
*
Nikolay Mikhaylovsky
Nikolay Konstantinovich Mikhaylovsky () (, Meshchovsk–, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian literary critic, sociologist, writer on public affairs, and one of the theoreticians of the Narodniki movement.
Biography
The school of thinkers he bel ...
(1842–1904)
*
Lev Tikhomirov
Lev Alexandrovich Tikhomirov (russian: Лев Александрович Тихомиров; borm on January 19, 1852, Gelendzhik – died October 10,1923, Sergiyev Posad), originally a Russian revolutionary and one of the members of the Executive ...
(1852–1923) (''later prominent conservative thinker'')
*
Razumnik Ivanov-Razumnik
Razumnik Vasilyevich Ivanov-Razumnik (real surname - Ivanov; Разумник Васильевич Иванов-Разумник; 24 December 1878, in Tiflis, Georgia, then Russian Empire – 9 July 1946, in Munich, Germany) was a Soviet Russian w ...
(1878–1946)
Anarchists
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...
*
Mikhail Bakunin
Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin (; 1814–1876) was a Russian revolutionary anarchist, socialist and founder of collectivist anarchism. He is considered among the most influential figures of anarchism and a major founder of the revolutionary s ...
(1814–1876), qlso listed among the
materialist and
nihilist
Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. The term was popularized by Ivan ...
theorists
*
Leo Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
(1828–1910), whom some consider the greatest of Russian novelists
*
Peter Kropotkin (1842–1921), known as the 'Anarchist Prince' or 'Father of Anarchism'
Materialists
Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds matter to be the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materiali ...
and
nihilists
*
N. G. Chernyshevsky (1828–1889)
*
Dimitri Pisarev
Dmitry Ivanovich Pisarevrussian: Дми́трий Ива́нович Пи́сарев ( – ) was a Russian literary critic and philosopher who was a central figure of Russian nihilism. He is noted as a forerunner of Nietzschean philosophy and f ...
(1840–1868)
*
Ivan Sechenov
Doctor Ivan Mikhaylovich Sechenov (russian: Ива́н Миха́йлович Се́ченов; , Tyoply Stan (now Sechenovo) near Simbirsk, Russia – , Moscow), was a Russian psychologist, physiologist, and medical scientist.
The very fa ...
(1829–1905)
Socialists
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...
and
Marxists
*
George Plekhanov (1856–1918) ''The first major Russian Marxist thinker''
*
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...
(1870–1924) ''The founder of Leninism''
*
Alexandra Kollontai
Alexandra Mikhailovna Kollontai (russian: Алекса́ндра Миха́йловна Коллонта́й, née Domontovich, Домонто́вич; – 9 March 1952) was a Russian revolutionary, politician, diplomat and Marxist the ...
(1872–1952)
*
Alexander Herzen
Alexander Ivanovich Herzen (russian: Алекса́ндр Ива́нович Ге́рцен, translit=Alexándr Ivánovich Gértsen; ) was a Russian writer and thinker known as the "father of Russian socialism" and one of the main fathers of agra ...
(1812–1870)
*
Leon Trotsky
Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...
(1879–1940) ''The founder of Trotskyism''
*
Nikolai Bukharin (1888–1938)
*
Sofya Yanovskaya
Sofya Aleksandrovna Yanovskaya (also Janovskaja; russian: Софи́я Алекса́ндровна Яно́вская; 31 January 1896 – 24 October 1966) was a Soviet mathematician and historian, specializing in the history of mathematics, math ...
(1896–1966)
*
Aleksandr Zinovyev
Alexander Alexandrovich Zinoviev ( Russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Зино́вьев; October 29, 1922 – May 10, 2006) was a Soviet philosopher, writer, sociologist, and journalist.
Coming from a poor peasant fami ...
(1922–2006)
*
Evald Ilyenkov
Evald Vassilievich Ilyenkov (russian: link=no, Э́вальд Васи́льевич Илье́нков; 18 February 1924 – 21 March 1979) was a Marxist author and Soviet philosopher.
Biography
Evald Ilyenkov did original work on the mater ...
(1924–1979)
*
Aleksandr Voronsky
Aleksandr Konstantinovich Voronsky (russian: Алекса́ндр Константи́нович Воро́нский) ( – 13 August 1937) was a prominent humanist Marxist literary critic, theorist and editor of the 1920s, disfavored and pu ...
(1884—1937)
Christian philosophers
Pre-
Solovyov
*
Pamfil Yurkevich (1826–1874)
*
Vladimir Solovyov (1853–1900) noted to have created the first complete encompassing system of Russian philosophy
[''History of Russian Philosophy'' p. 81 by N. O. Lossky]
*
Vasily Rozanov
Vasily Vasilievich Rozanov (russian: Васи́лий Васи́льевич Рóзанов; – 5 February 1919) was one of the most controversial Russian writers and important philosophers in the symbolists' of the pre-revolutionary epoch ...
(1856–1919)
*
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...
(1821–1881) also listed as an
existentialist
Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and value ...
*
Sergei Bulgakov
Sergei Nikolaevich Bulgakov (; russian: Серге́й Никола́евич Булга́ков; – 13 July 1944) was a Russian Orthodox theologian, priest, philosopher, and economist.
Biography
Early life: 1871–1898
Sergei Nikolaevich B ...
(1871–1944)
*
Nikolai Berdyaev (1874–1948) also listed as an
existentialist
Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and value ...
* Count
Leo Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
(1828–1910) also listed as the greatest of novelists and an
anarchist
Orthodox Christian theologians
*
Aleksey Khomyakov (1804–1860)
*
Pavel Florensky
Pavel Alexandrovich Florensky (also P. A. Florenskiĭ, Florenskii, Florenskij; russian: Па́вел Алекса́ндрович Флоре́нский; hy, Պավել Ֆլորենսկի, Pavel Florenski; – December 8, 1937) was a Russian O ...
(1882–1937)
*
Vladimir Lossky
Vladimir Nikolaievich Lossky (russian: Влади́мир Никола́евич Ло́сский; 1903–1958) was a Russian Eastern Orthodox theologian exiled in Paris. He emphasized '' theosis'' as the main principle of Eastern Orthodox Christi ...
(1903–1958)
*
Georges Florovsky
Georges Vasilievich Florovsky (Russian: Гео́ргий Васи́льевич Флоро́вский; – August 11, 1979) was a Russian Orthodox priest, theologian, and historian.
Born in the Russian Empire, he spent his working life in Pari ...
(1893–1979)
*
Michael Pomazansky Protopresbyter Michael Ivanovich Pomazansky (russian: Михаи́л Ива́нович Помаза́нский; November 7, 1888 – November 4, 1988) was a Russian theologian. Biography
He was born in the village of Koryst, in the govern ...
(1888–1988)
*
Alexander Schmemann (1921–1983)
*
John Meyendorff
John Meyendorff (french: Jean Meyendorff; russian: Ива́н Феофи́лович Мейендо́рф, tr. ; February 17, 1926 – July 22, 1992) was a leading theologian of the Orthodox Church of America as well as a writer and teacher. He s ...
(1926–1992)
Intuitivist-personalists
*
Nikolai Lossky
Nikolay Onufriyevich Lossky. (; – 24 January 1965), also known as N. O. Lossky, was a Russian philosopher, representative of Russian idealism, intuitionist epistemology, personalism, libertarianism, ethics and axiology (value theory). He gave ...
(1870–1965)
*
Semyon Frank
Semyon Lyudvigovich Frank (russian: Семён Лю́двигович Франк; 28 January 1877 – 10 December 1950) was a Russian philosopher. Born into a Jewish family, he became a Christian in 1912. Early life and studies
Semyon Lyudvigov ...
(1877–1950)
*
Aleksei Losev (1893–1988)
*
Leo Lopatin (1855–1920)
Existentialists
Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...
*
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...
(1821–1881)
*
Lev Shestov
Lev Isaakovich Shestov (russian: Лев Исаа́кович Шесто́в; 31 January .S. 13 February 1866 – 19 November 1938), born Yehuda Leib Shvartsman (russian: Иегуда Лейб Шварцман), was a Russian existentialist and re ...
(1866–1938)
*
Nikolai Berdyaev (1874–1948)
Aestheticians
*
Alexei Losev (1893–1988)
*
Mikhail Bakhtin
Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin ( ; rus, Михаи́л Миха́йлович Бахти́н, , mʲɪxɐˈil mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ bɐxˈtʲin; – 7 March 1975) was a Russian philosopher, literary critic and scholar who worked on literary theor ...
(1895–1975)
*
Mikhail Epstein
Mikhail Naumovich Epstein (also transliterated Epshtein; russian: Михаи́л Нау́мович Эпште́йн; born 21 April 1950) is a Russian-American literary scholar and essayist who is Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Cultural Theo ...
(Epshtein) (1950–)
Historians of thought
*
Isaiah Berlin (1909–1997)
*
Razumnik Ivanov-Razumnik
Razumnik Vasilyevich Ivanov-Razumnik (real surname - Ivanov; Разумник Васильевич Иванов-Разумник; 24 December 1878, in Tiflis, Georgia, then Russian Empire – 9 July 1946, in Munich, Germany) was a Soviet Russian w ...
(1878–1946)
Globalists
*
Alexander Chumakov (1950–)
See also
*
Philosophy in the Soviet Union
Philosophy in the Soviet Union was officially confined to Marxist–Leninist thinking, which theoretically was the basis of objective and ultimate philosophical truth. During the 1920s and 1930s, other tendencies of Russian thought were repressed ...
*
Philosophers' ship
*
Russian literature
*
Valentin A. Bazhanov
*
Lev Gumilev
Lev Nikolayevich Gumilyov (russian: Лев Никола́евич Гумилёв; 1 October 1912 – 15 June 1992) was a Soviet historian, ethnologist, anthropologist and translator. He had a reputation for his highly unorthodox theories of e ...
*
Dmitry Likhachev
*
Daniil Andreyev
*
Vasily Nalimov
Vasiliy Vasilievich Nalimov (Васи́лий Васи́льевич Нали́мов; 4 November 1910 – 19 January 1997) was a Russian philosopher and humanist and wrote on Transpersonal Psychology. His main areas of research were the philosophy ...
*
Victor Ovcharenko
*
Karen A. Swassjan
*
Nicolai A. Vasiliev
*
Sergei O. Prokofieff
*
Alexander Zinoviev
Alexander Alexandrovich Zinoviev ( Russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Зино́вьев; October 29, 1922 – May 10, 2006) was a Soviet philosopher, writer, sociologist, and journalist.
Coming from a poor peasant fami ...
*
Geydar Dzhemal
References
Bibliography
* ''History of Russian Philosophy'' (''История российской Философии'') (1951) by N. O. Lossky. Publisher: Allen & Unwin, London. International Universities Press Inc NY, NY sponsored by
Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary
St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) is an Eastern Orthodox seminary in Yonkers, New York. It is chartered under the State University of New York and accredited by the Association of Theological Schools. It is a pan-Eastern Or ...
.
* ''
A History of Philosophy, Volume 10: Russian Philosophy'' (1986) by
Frederick Copleston
Frederick Charles Copleston (10 April 1907 – 3 February 1994) was an English Roman Catholic Jesuit priest, philosopher, and historian of philosophy, best known for his influential multi-volume '' A History of Philosophy'' (1946–75).
...
. Publisher: Continuum, London.
* ''A history of Russian Philosophy'' (2 vols.) by
Vasilii Vasilevich Zenkovsky; translator George L. Kline Publisher: Routledge & Kegan Paul (1953).
* ''Russian Philosophy. English-Russian Dictionary'' (ed. Vasily Vanchugov). Moscow, People's Friendship University of Russia, 2005.
External links
Books on Russian philosophyat
Runivers.ru
Runivers ( rus, Руниверс) is a site devoted to Russian culture and history. Runivers targets Russian speaking readers and those interested in Russian culture and history.
Runivers is an online library aimed to provide free access to aut ...
Brief overview of Russian philosophyPHILTARComprehensive web site with links to texts and resources
edited by Dmitry Olshansky
entry in the ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy''.
*
ttp://www.rep.routledge.com/article/E042#E042P3.28 Routledge entryKonstantin Leontiev* —Extensive collection of links to Bulgakov resources
Russia's Wisdomby Daniel H. Shubin; a compendium of Russia's philosophers and selections.
{{Philosophy topics
Philosophers
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...