Publication details
Ruské liberální myšlení 50. a 60. let 19. století: proměny interpretace od 90. let 20. století do současnosti
| Title in English | Russian Liberalism of the 1850s and 1860s: Evolving Interpretations from the 1990s to the Present |
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| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2019 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | Since the 1950s, Soviet researchers have been working on the conceptualisation of Russian liberalism in the 19th and early 20th century, with the particular focus on its early stages during the first half of the reign of Alexander II, in what is usually termed early Russian liberalism. The Soviet concept, while undoubtedly biased and rooted in the prevailing ideology of the time, was clearly defined. However, this fixed view began to erode in the 1970s and 80s with changing interpretations and clarifications. In the 1990s, liberalism became a fashionable topic and the wide-ranging discussions of this era cast serious doubt on the previous understanding of Russian liberalism. The search for new approaches free from ideological bias produced several starkly different concepts. Rather than viewing liberalism as an opposition – albeit moderate – movement, some researchers began to view it as part of Alexander II’s ruling circle and call it “government liberalism”. Other researchers focused on how nationalism and the perception of the Russian Empire impacted early Russian liberalism and arrived at the concept of “liberal nationalism”. While outside Russia, researchers have not traditionally perceived Slavophiles as representatives of Russian liberalism, this older interpretation has been recently revived by Russian experts and updated into the concept of “Christian liberalism”. This overview of some of the existing interpretations, albeit incomplete, illustrates the changes in how Russian historians have approached the history of their own country over time. |
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