SLAVOPHILE AND EURASIAN UNDERSTANDING OF RUSSIAN CIVILIZATION

Largely developed on the ideas of the early Slavophiles (primarily А. Khomyakov and Yu. Samarin), N. Danilevsky’s and К. Leontiev’s ideas on the civilization were added under the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church, its opposition to various expansionistic attempts of the Western Christianity. Therewith, Danilevsky thought of a necessity to create All-Slav civilization, uniting Russia with Slav nations, while Leontiev suggested a Slav-Asian civilization which together with Russia should include not just Slavs but Asians. This was advanced by Eurasian thinkers (N. Trubetskoi, P. Savitsky, G. Vernadsky and others). Russia for them is Eurasia, i.e. Russia-Eurasia is a powerful civilization, united all Russian people within USSR for whom by the way the East was much nearer than the West