The Phenomenon of Intelligentsia in the Russian Emigrant Thought (By Example of Georgy Fedotov's Works)

The article analyses the features of the study of the intelligentsia in the Russian emigrant thought by example of Georgy Fedo-tov's works. The relevance of the topic is caused by a special interest in the problem of the Russian intelligentsia. There are many research works devoted to the problem of its social role's exhaustion. The article shows that Fedotov's study of the intelligentsia since the 11th century reflects the peculiarities of the approach to the material: he uses excursuses to depict the unity of the historical process. The thinker regards the concept "intelligentsia" as a historical one. He tries to identify its exhaustive features and uses materials written by intellectuals about themselves. Fedotov proceeds from a socioethical criterion. He formulates the features of the Russian intelligentsia and emphasises its "ideological commitment" and "groundlessness": features that manifest in different extent and time. N.A. Berdyaev also noted these two features of the intelligentsia, while F.A. Stepun argued with Fedotov about the second one. Fedotov traces the main course of the intelligentsia from Belinsky through Russian populists to the 20th-century revolutionaries; he describes the people of the 1840s and Russian populists as extremely high representatives of the Russian intelligentsia's consciousness. The identification of the intelligentsia's essential features leads to the consideration of the motifs prevalent in the intellectual discourse (interrelation with the people and the government, historical mission). Fedotov describes the Russian intelligentsia as an exclusive phenomenon of the national history. He also notes the existence of this group in other countries. This thought is similar to P.M. Milyukov's idea, though Fedotov denies the existence of such a social group in the West. Fedotov is interested in the peculiarities of the Russian national consciousness. He considers the intellectual type as one of the links in its evolution. The intelligentsia is not only a consistent expression of the Russian spiritual type, but also a component of the dual centre of the Russian mentality. Fedo-tov focuses particular attention on Russian populism because he believes that it is related to the Old Russian religiosity. He gives the main role in spiritual work to the intelligentsia of the 1920s. The intelligentsia was to become a spiritual aristocracy, abandon political activity and focus on cultural work. The author believes that Fedotov gave a general portrait of the intelligentsia, revealed the peculiarities of its emergence and evolution, its role and purpose in society. He believed that the intelligentsia should be a carrier of cultural values in the future. Latest discussions raise the same questions. They are updated due to the necessity of rethinking the general characteristics of the intelligentsia's properties and functionality in the new era.

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