Page:The Spirit of Russia by T G Masaryk, volume 1.pdf/263



ITH the aid of German philosophy the "fanatic Slavs," as Čaadaev termed them, transformed Uvarov's theocratic program into a philosophical system. In his religious westernism Čaadaev remained isolated but continued to exercise an influence upon friend and foe, for the slavophil movement culminated in the establishment of a school.

Slavophil philosophy was first formulated in the literary circles of Moscow being directly connected with the system of Schelling, whereas to the westernisers, the opponents of slavophilism, Hegel's system served as foundation. At the outset the two tendencies were not precisely differentiated, but by about 1845 a clear division of principle was recognised, and therewith the adherents of the respective views entered opposite camps. Owing, however, to the severity of censorship under Nicholas, the literary and journalistic formulation of the conceptions in question did not ensue until some years later, at the beginning of the ﬁfties and in the opening years of the reign of Alexander II.

Certain historians of literature refer to nationalist predecessors of the slavophils, telling us that Šiškov, Karamzin, or Küchelbecker was the first slavophil. The only sense in which this is true is that the slavophils developed yet further the strong nationalist tendency which had become manifest during the reign of Alexander I and that they defended and treasured Russian civilisation. In this sense, predecessors of slavophilism are likewise to be found among the first advocates