G.P. Fedotov on Russian national consciousness formation in the 20th century
The determination of Russian national identity criteria is a very significant and complex issue in modern society. It became important to study the Russian thinkers' ideas of the early 20th century, concerning the issue of national consciousness formation. Their concepts reflect characteristics of the cultural and historical space and can be used today because of the urgent character of the issue. G.P. Fedotov dedicated most of his works to this issue. The source element in resolving the issue is in his understanding of the nation. Firstly, it is a cultural category which includes religion, language, system of moral concepts, literature, etc. Secondly, it is a political category (integrated political organization). It is the union of culture and polity. G.P. Fedotov started from a concrete historical reality in the analysis of modern history and in the thoughts about future. He talked about the necessity of national consciousness creation which is Great-Russian, Russian and Russia-based simultaneously. The Great Russian consciousness is connected with the culture of the northern group of the Eastern Slavs. The Russian consciousness creation is determined by the unity of the three main tribes. The formation of Russian consciousness was intended by the recreation of the spiritual image of all the nations inhabiting the country, the recognition of the national consciousness of these peoples. So, Fedotov was as an Orthodox historian recognizing the right of a people to original historical creativity. Fedotov stood for Christian consciousness formation, because it would unite people. Christian consciousness is rooted in the Universal Church, thus was both national and supra-national. Many Russian religious thinkers talked about the "revival of the Orthodox world" (A.V. Kartashov, S.N. Bulgakov, G.V. Florovsky). They had some common points in their positions, but different solutions to the problem. Fedotov, first of all, wrote about calling into existence of the Christian community and about the intelligentsia playing a major role in the spiritual work. Articles of the 1930s were full of optimism about the national revival of Russia. Fedotov noted that the Russian national consciousness had not degenerated, because it had not fulfilled its cultural tasks. In the second half of the 1940s his looks were pessimistic. The reason was the exacerbation of national problems: the explosion of the Great Russian nationalism. Fedotov also noted the evolution of the Soviet system towards the increasing strangulation of freedom, without which it was impossible to build a culture. So, G.P. Fedotov describes his own version of national and cultural problems resolving. A nation is a matter that needs to be spiritualized by a cultural content. Therefore, Fedotov believed in cultural values and their revival as the main uniting source of the peoples inhabiting the Russian state. These ideas are as relevant today as they were at the beginning of the 20th century.
Keywords
culture, nationalism, nation, religion, Russian national consciousness, культура, национализм, религия, русское национальное сознание, нацияAuthors
Name | Organization | |
Gumerova Zhanna A. | Tomsk State University | janet80@inbox.ru |
References

G.P. Fedotov on Russian national consciousness formation in the 20th century | Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta – Tomsk State University Journal. 2017. № 416. DOI: 10.17223/15617793/416/11