Pan-Slavism of F.I. Tyutchev and F.M. Dostoevsky: Historical and Political Analysis

Abstract

The ideas of Slavic unity periodically played a significant role in politics. Today, the ideas of pan-Slavism, both political and cultural, are relevant again. The objective of this study is to identify two stable trends of pan-Slavism of the 19th century, “political” and “cultural”, which are reflected in the works of classics of Russian literature: F.I. Tyutchev and F.M. Dostoevsky. The history of socio-political doctrines as an interdisciplinary field of knowledge involves the study of various sources, including fiction. The theoretical basis of this research is a political and textual approach to the study of texts developed at the Department of the History of Socio-Political Doctrines of the Faculty of Political Science of Lomonosov Moscow State University, as well as methods used in the research of political science fiction. According to the results of the study, it can be concluded that ideologically Tyutchev was close to representatives of “political” pan-Slavism. He believed that the “Germanization” and “Turkification” of the Slavic peoples jeopardized the state interests of Russia and called for actions to liberate, unite and Russify the Slavic countries (the idea of the Slavic Empire). Dostoevsky gravitated towards “cultural” pan-Slavism. He did not deny the very possibility of such a union, but believed that first it was necessary to raise the level of civic culture, for Dostoevsky the future of the “Slavic cause” was determined by the Orthodox-Messianic idea. If Russia aims to build allied relations with Slavic countries, it will have to formulate an attractive idea that could also contribute to the spiritual unification of Slavs and other peoples.