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Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality (russian: Правосла́вие, самодержа́вие, наро́дность, Pravoslávie, samoderzhávie, naródnost'), also known as Official Nationality,Riasanovsky, p. 132 was the dominant imperial ideological doctrine of Russian emperor Nicholas I. The doctrine sought imperial unity under Orthodox Christianity and the absolute authority of the emperor, while suppressing ideas deemed destructive to that unity. It followed a broader European
reactionary In political science, a reactionary or a reactionist is a person who holds political views that favor a return to the '' status quo ante'', the previous political state of society, which that person believes possessed positive characteristics abs ...
trend that sought to restore and defend political institutions that were overthrown in the
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
.Riasanovsky, p.133 "The Triad" of Official Nationality was originally proposed by Minister of Education
Sergey Uvarov Count Sergey Semionovich Uvarov (russian: Граф Серге́й Семёнович Ува́ров; 5 September Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._25_August.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/> O.S._25_August">O ...
in his April 2, 1833, circular letter to subordinate educators.Hosking, p. 146 It was soon embraced by Nicholas and his establishment and gained wide public recognition, vocally supported by intellectuals like
Mikhail Pogodin Mikhail Petrovich Pogodin (russian: Михаи́л Петро́вич Пого́дин; , Moscow, Moscow) was a Russian Imperial historian and journalist who, jointly with Nikolay Ustryalov, dominated the national historiography between the death ...
,Riasanovsky, pp. 138–39
Fyodor Tyutchev Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev ( rus, Фёдор Ива́нович Тю́тчев, r=Fyódor Ivánovič Tyútčev, links=1, p=ˈfʲɵdər ɪˈvanəvʲɪt͡ɕ ˈtʲʉt͡ɕːɪf; Pre-Reform orthography: ; – ) was a Russian poet and diplomat. ...
, and
Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...
.Riasanovsky, p. 135 Critics of the policy saw this principle as a call for Russification. Yet the very fact of its existence, being Russia's first statewide political ideology since the 16th century, indicated the nation's brewing transition to
modernity Modernity, a topic in the humanities and social sciences, is both a historical period (the modern era) and the ensemble of particular socio-cultural norms, attitudes and practices that arose in the wake of the Renaissancein the " Age of Reaso ...
.Hoffmann, Kotsonis, p. 54


Quest for ideology

Nicholas I emerged as the emperor in the wake of
Decembrist revolt The Decembrist Revolt ( ru , Восстание декабристов, translit = Vosstaniye dekabristov , translation = Uprising of the Decembrists) took place in Russia on , during the interregnum following the sudden death of Emperor A ...
; subsequent investigation proved that disloyalty was deeply rooted within the noble estate—the sole foundation of the
House of Romanov The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastasia Romanova, was married to t ...
.Hosking, p. 145 His
father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fath ...
and
grandfather Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually-reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic gr ...
were killed by their own guards and statesmen in palace coups. Keen to eradicate the rebels and ensure his own physical security, Nicholas carefully studied proceedings of the Decembrists investigation and was aware of defects in his predecessor's government that fueled the mutiny. "In one sense, the reign of Nicholas I was a protracted
epilogue An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the w ...
to the Decembrist rising."Hosking, p.144 Nicholas, acting in line with his absolutist predecessors of the
Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...
, developed a state education system and completed codification of the law.Hosking, pp.144-145,148 He installed a highly regulated but ultimately inefficient government system of "anxious centralization", himself being the chief arbiter between rivalling statesmen.Hosking, p. 146 The system created by Nicolas I was unsound and ineffective since the emperor could not personally oversee all state business and review all papers to be signed. The Emperor found himself a prisoner of his own system, so he could only rely on his high officials in most of his day-to-day activity. Higher officials relied on officials of lower rank. In most cases government officials, even ministers, did things on their own and paid little attention to general instructions given by the Emperor in one case or another. The autocracy was exploited by government officials (''chinovniki'') for their own benefit. The autocracy in fact turned out to be a cover to hide the acts made by officials at all levels. Back in those days, it was ''chinovniki'' who had real power, but not the Emperor, who was nothing more but a promulgator of laws. Nevertheless, if a certain law was not lucrative or was disadvantageous for government officials, it was not a problem to make legal obstacles to enforce such law. Sometimes a law was simply abolished without the Emperor knowing about it, as it was usually the case with the Emperor’s acts regulating commercial activity of Saint Petersburg negotiants (''kuptsy''). In any case, the Emperor always got a report that everything went well and all his instructions had been implemented. But he also attributed the nobles' disloyalty to a Europe-wide conspiracy aimed at destroying ruling monarchies, religion, and morale. Russia, according to his point of view, succeeded in
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
while more advanced regimes failed and saved Europe from plunging into decay and
atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that ther ...
.


Forging the triad

Sergey Uvarov Count Sergey Semionovich Uvarov (russian: Граф Серге́й Семёнович Ува́ров; 5 September Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._25_August.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/> O.S._25_August">O ...
, Minister of Education and President of the
Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across ...
since 1818, was also a writer, a scholar and at times was considered a
freethinker Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods ...
. Yet, with a change in domestic politics, he easily adjusted to a tightened regime.Riasanovsky, p. 132 In 1833 Uvarov forged the emperor's program into a brief statement of ideology: Tsar Nicholas I had remembered the
Decembrist revolt The Decembrist Revolt ( ru , Восстание декабристов, translit = Vosstaniye dekabristov , translation = Uprising of the Decembrists) took place in Russia on , during the interregnum following the sudden death of Emperor A ...
for all his life. He always suspected secret societies and uprisings to be plotted around him. Such personal feelings of the Tsar had great influence on the development of Russia. In order to meet the demands of the new state of affairs under Nicholas I, the Minister of Public Education S. Uvarov proposed to give new original shape to the national educational system. He said that Russia needs such educational system which could produce skilled, professional, well prepared executors of the Emperor’s wishes. Such an educational system should not only provide knowledge to people, but also made them unconditionally loyal to the Emperor. Briefly speaking, Uvarov tried to deprive education of its most important integral part: an analytical and critical approach to an environment (specifically to the political environment). According to Uvarov's theory, the Russian folk (''narod'') were very religious and devoted to the emperor, the Orthodox religion, and autocracy as unconditional bases of the existence of Russia. ''Narodnost'' (nationality) is deemed to be the necessity to follow independent national traditions and to fight foreign influence. The theory stated that it was necessary to reject western ideas—freedom of thinking, freedom of personality, individualism, and rationalism—which were considered by Orthodox hierarchs as dangerous and rebellious. The chief of Russian political police (the III Department of His Majesty's Personal Chancellery) A. Benckendorff wrote that "the past of Russia was wonderful, the present is splendid and the future is above all dreams". These three concepts were considered as "pillar-walls" of the Russian Empire. Uvarov's triad was the first explicit statement of government ideology in Russian history since the 16th century. He repeated the triad and elaborated on the topic throughout the 16 years of his ministry and was eventually awarded the title of a
count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...
. "Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality" became the Uvarov family motto, decreed by Nicholas. Yet he also did much as a true educator, raising educational standards, establishing new colleges, and increasing the number of scholarships for overseas training. Under Uvarov, the "Russian educational system, with all its fundamental flaws, came to emphasise academic thoroughness and high standards", although it also became more exclusive at all levels.Riasanovsky, p. 146


Components

The three components of Uvarov's triad were * Orthodoxy: Orthodox Christianity and the protection of the
Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...
. * Autocracy: unconditional loyalty to the
House of Romanov The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastasia Romanova, was married to t ...
in return for paternalist protection for all social estates. * Nationality: can be defined as "fidelity to Russia's distinct cultural heritage" and deference to "aspirations of the common people". It has been also translated as ''
national spirit ''Geist'' () is a German noun with a significant degree of importance in German philosophy. Its semantic field corresponds to English ghost, spirit, mind, intellect. Some English translators resort to using "spirit/mind" or "spirit (mind)" to h ...
'', and ''
populism Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develope ...
''. Before its adoption by Nicholas I, was a central tenet of Russian Romantic writers, the Russian expression of a principle more often called
Romantic nationalism Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...
. The sequence of three parts of the triad remained fixed in all circumstances even when the words themselves changed: military cadets were instructed to be "Christians, loyal subjects, and Russians"; the common public motto called "For Faith, Tsar and Fatherland".Riasanovsky, p. 135 The triad was inherently unbalanced in favor of centralized autocracy. The
Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...
was impoverished and incapable of being an independent political force.Hosking, p. 147 The government remained wary of ''any'' philosophy, including
theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
. Nationality through empowerment of the people was not a choice from the start and became even less probable after the dreaded
nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
Revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europ ...
"reduced Nicholas to a state of almost
catatonic Catatonia is a complex neuropsychiatric behavioral syndrome that is characterized by abnormal movements, immobility, abnormal behaviors, and withdrawal. The onset of catatonia can be acute or subtle and symptoms can wax, wane, or change during ...
fear".Hosking, p. 149 It also ran against the ever-increasing role of
Baltic Germans Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...
in the government system; even converted to Orthodoxy, they retained their distinct ethnicity.Hosking, p. 149


Public reception

The press,
censored Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
by the state, eagerly embraced the new doctrine and was dominated by it until the end of Nicholas's reign.Riasanovsky, p. 134
Stepan Shevyryov Stepan Petrovich Shevyryov (russian: Степан Петрович Шевырёв, 30 (18) October 1806 in Saratov, Russian Empire – 20 (8) May 1864 in Paris, France) was a conservative Russian literary historian and poet, a virulent critic o ...
, editor of ' magazine, asserted that "even if we did pick certain unavoidable blemishes from the West, we have on the other hand preserved in ourselves, in their purity, three fundamental feelings which contain the seed and guarantee of our future development."
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. Slavop ...
, in particular, accepted the anti-European, paternalistic aspect of the doctrine.
Mikhail Pogodin Mikhail Petrovich Pogodin (russian: Михаи́л Петро́вич Пого́дин; , Moscow, Moscow) was a Russian Imperial historian and journalist who, jointly with Nikolay Ustryalov, dominated the national historiography between the death ...
explained the paternalistic, peaceful nature of autocracy as seen by Slavophiles: "the secret of Russian history, the secret which not a single Western sage is able to comprehend: Russian history always depicts Russia as a single family in which the ruler is the father and the subjects are children. The father retains full authority over children while he allows them to have full freedom ... there can be no suspicion, no treason; their fate, their happiness, their peace they share in common. This is true in relation to the state as a whole..."Riasanovsky, pp. 138–39
Nikolai Nadezhdin Nikolai Ivanovich Nadezhdin (russian: Николай Иванович Надеждин) ( – ) was a Russian literary critic and Russia's first ethnographer. Biography Born in Beloomut, Ryazan Governorate, Nadezhdin graduated from Ryazan Se ...
, who initially entertained the Westernised, Schellingian notion of ''nationality'', radically changed his mind in favor of Official Nationality in the wake of the Chaadayev affair (1837), writing that "nationality had always consisted of love of the Tsar and obedience, and which in the future should display in itself, to Europe's dismay, a brilliant lesson of how from the holy unity of autocracy, must arise an exemplary and splendid national enlightenment...".Hoffmann, Kotsonis, p. 55
Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...
in his final work '' Selected Passages from Correspondence with His Friends'' (1847) extended Official Nationality to relationships between landlords and serfs: "Make them erfssee clearly that in everything that concerns them you are acting in accordance with the will of God and not in accordance with some European or other fancies on your own."Riasanovsky, p. 136


Comparisons to Putinism

A number of commentators have compared the ideology of Vladimir Putin, ruler of Russia since 1999, to the doctrine of Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality. Faith Hillis of the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the be ...
has argued that Putin "wants to reconstitute the Russian Empire and its guiding ideologies, which were orthodoxy, autocracy and nationality—except now, under the power of a very sophisticated police state." A 2014 paper in the
Journal of Eurasian Studies The ''Journal of Eurasian Studies'' is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal covering research on the Eurasian region. It was established in 2010 by the Asia-Pacific Research Center of Hanyang University. From 2010 to 2018, the department publ ...
argued that "Putin has emphasized patriotism, power, and statism to justify centralization of power and authoritarian policies. Putin's policies and rhetoric are strong analogs to those of Nicholas." Stan Grant of
Charles Sturt University Charles Sturt University is an Australian multi-campus public university located in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Victoria. Established in 1989, it was named in honour of Captain Charles Napier Sturt, a British explorer wh ...
has argued that it "remains Putin's vision today. The church and the state are inseparable. The head of Russian Orthodoxy, Patriarch Kirill, has called Putin 'a miracle of God'."
Foreign Policy A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through mu ...
journalist Michael Hirsh has stated that the policy "isn’t mentioned in Putin’s speeches and writings—he still likes to pretend Russia is a democracy—but it has been invoked by the far-right thinkers said to influence Putin, including
Aleksandr Dugin Aleksandr Gelyevich Dugin ( rus, Александр Гельевич Дугин; born 7 January 1962) is a Russian political philosopher, analyst, and strategist, who has been widely characterized as a fascist. Born into a military intellig ...
,
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 et ...
,
Igor Shafarevich Igor Rostislavovich Shafarevich (russian: И́горь Ростисла́вович Шафаре́вич; 3 June 1923 – 19 February 2017) was a Soviet and Russian mathematician who contributed to algebraic number theory and algebraic geometry. ...
,
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 Feb ...
,
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 ...
,
Sergei Petrovich Trubetskoy Prince Sergei Petrovich Trubetskoy (russian: Серге́й Петро́вич Трубецко́й; 29 August 1790 – 22 November 1860) was one of the organizers of the Decembrist movement. Close to Nikita Mikhailovich Muravyov in his views, he ...
, and others dating back 200 years."


See also

*
Byzantinism Byzantinism, or Byzantism, is the political system and culture of the Byzantine Empire, and its spiritual successors the Orthodox Christian Balkan countries of Greece and Bulgaria especially, and to a lesser extent Serbia and some other Orthodox ...
*
Liberté, égalité, fraternité ''Liberté, égalité, fraternité'' (), French for "liberty, equality, fraternity", is the national motto of France and the Republic of Haiti, and is an example of a tripartite motto. Although it finds its origins in the French Revolution, ...
*
Tsarist autocracy Tsarist autocracy (russian: царское самодержавие, transcr. ''tsarskoye samoderzhaviye''), also called Tsarism, was a form of autocracy (later absolute monarchy) specific to the Grand Duchy of Moscow and its successor states t ...


Citations


General sources

* * *
Uvarov's report (in Russian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orthodoxy, Autocracy, And Nationality Eastern Orthodoxy and far-right politics Mottos Political catchphrases Politics of the Russian Empire Russian nationalism Monarchism Far-right politics in Russia Nicholas I of Russia Russian philosophy