The basic directions of development of the Russian political thought

From XVII century influence of religious outlook on development of political thought starts to weaken, it becomes more independent. In it influence of ideas of the French Education though on Russian soil it was relative was showed. Many ideas of education, and in particular such as the theory of division of the authorities, the idea of the public contract, the natural rights of the person etc., could not take roots then in the Russian public consciousness. However processes of rationalisation of political thought, its rapprochement with a science gradually gained in strength. It was expressed first of all that the power has ceased to be considered as exclusively divine gift.

So, supporters of idea of the educated absolutism V.N.Tatischev (1686-1750), I.T.Pososhkov (1652-1726) and others treated the state as means of maintenance of general welfare, as the main thing uslo -

вие preservations of life and a continuation of the family human. The state listens to reason of citizens, corrects, leaning against well developed and strictly observed code of laws. The Supreme carrier of the power (monarch) was still put over citizens and estates and its any actions justified. The governor was considered as the educated monarch, the governor-wise man.

Peter I associate, church figure Feofan Prokopovich (1681-1736) tried to connect idea of divine essence of the power to its reasonable use on realisation of the natural rights of the people. He considered that the state - result of conscious association of people: on suggestion of God the people have delegated the power to the monarch. Thus, God has put the monarch above the people and the law, and nobody has the right to limit its power or to terminate the contract between the monarch and the people. As F.Prokopovich's the best form of government recognised an absolute monarchy. Last can be either hereditary, or elective. Is more effective, in its opinion, the hereditary form as the ruling monarch aspires to transfer to the successor the prospering state.

However under the influence of ideas of Education the criticism of the concept of the educated absolutism accrued. On a wave of criticism of the absolute power the idea of its restriction, introduction of principles of constitutionalism and parliamentarism was born. Actually in development of political thought of Russia it is possible to allocate three directions: liberal, conservative and radical.

Liberal political thought

Liberalism as political ideology starts with leadership of the rights and personal freedoms over interests of the state and a society. But so far as social and economic (presence of the independent managing individual, middle class) and politiko-legal (a civil society, leadership of the right and the law) conditions for liberalism development in Russia were absent, also its influence on the Russian political thought was limited.

Many theoretical positions of classical western liberalism have been added to the arsenal by various estates, the organisations, movements. Before serfdom cancellation in Russia use of liberal ideas about a personal freedom inevitably led to sharp conflicts to autocracy. So, revolutionaries (Decembrists) of noble family in a substantiation of the protest against autocracy started with the theory of the natural right, defending the rights of each person to life, freedom, the property, equality of all before the law. Besides, by working out of bases of formation of institutes of the government they used idea of division of the authorities.

Only after cancellation of the serfdom orientation to the western values has got scale wide ideological and political and the social movement which has received the name "Westerners". This current of political thought started with idea of a generality of historical destinies of Russia and the West. Liberalism has been presented to Russia by various directions.

The professor of the right B.N.Tchitcherin (1828-1904) was the founder of guarding liberalism. Actively developing liberal idea of a lawful state, it supported leadership of the law limiting any power. However it did not divide idea about the natural and inaliennable rights as considered that their statement can lead to anarchy. He believed that the rights are given by the state. The constitutional monarchy created by loan of principles and political institutes in the West was its political ideal.

The professor of the Moscow university P.I.Novgorodtsev (1866-1924) developed idea of the social state which guarantees to each citizen the right to worthy human existence. According to the professor, freedom is possible only in the presence of necessary material conditions. P.I.Novgorodtsev was one of founders of Konstitutsionno-democratic party of Russia (party of cadets).

Russian conservatism

Orientation to the western values, aspiration to reforms of one part of the Russian society (businessmen, intelligency) have generated growth of an opposite tendency at its other part that has caused conservatism strengthening. It was reaction of considerable weight agrarian and country urban population on the possible changes occurring under the influence of industrial revolution in the West which threatened with destruction of habitual way of life.

Conservatism reflected aspiration to preservation of century traditions, customs, originality. The Ideological and political current which aspired to prove basic distinctions in development of Russia and the West, has received the name "Slavophiles". They excessively idealised the historical past of the country, Russian national character. Slavophiles explained originality of a historical way of the Russian society presence of the general - Russian - ideas which reflected people originality. But the maintenance of Russian idea was treated by its various adherents differently.

It is possible to allocate two directions in славянофильстве: 1) is orthodox-reactionary and 2) reformatory-focused. The minister of education, count S.S.Uvarov (1786-1855), historian N.M.Karamzin (1766-1826) were representatives of the first direction,

The ober-public prosecutor of Synod K.P. Победоносцев (1827-1905). The merit of definition of the concept славянофильства belongs to count S.S.Uvarovu. It has expressed sense славянофильства in the formula: «Orthodoxy, autocracy, a nationality». The western political institutes, realisation of liberal reforms it proved impossibility of transferring to Russia deep religiousness of the people, fidelity to its autocracy, moral unity. The order in the country keeps on belief in the power: if the belief the state will disappear disappears. For this reason, considered S.S.Uvarov, autocracy preservation is necessary.

The main ideologist of the second direction in славянофильстве was A.C. Hamsters (1804-1860). Representatives of this direction (brothers И.В. And P.V.Kireevsky, brothers К.С. And I.S.Aksakov, JU.F.Samarin, A.I.Koshelev) did not deny necessity of reforms, supported serfdom cancellation, granting of some freedom. However they considered the European way of transformation of a society pernicious for Russia as as they confirmed, it will destroy its spiritual unity. A.C. Hamsters connected originality of Russian people with соборностью, providing that spiritual integrity, those internal the consent and единомыслие, love to each other which are peculiar to Russian people. Further writer F.M.Dostoevsky (1821-1881) among distinctive features of Russian people has noted amnesty, asceticism, general love, humility.

Political radicalism

The belief in independence of Russia and its special way of development were included also into the concept of a revolutionary reorganisation of a society. Conditions for cultivation of radical ideas of social transformation to Russia existed: the low standard of living of considerable weight of the population, appreciable rupture in incomes of various groups of a society, class privileges of one and restrictions for others, absence of the civil and political rights etc. the Ancestor of idea of revolutionary overthrow of autocracy became A.N.Radishchev (1749-1802). Instead of a monarchy he offered national board in the form of voluntary federation of free cities by an example of Ancient Novgorod. The national board, in its opinion, corresponds to "a human nature» as it is based on principles of people's sovereignty and неотчуждаемости the natural rights of the person. At the head of federation there should be the worthy people who have been put forward by the people. Let's notice that the idea of direct board of the people was utopian, its realisation returned a society in the past - to вечевым to usages.

After A.N.Radishcheva Decembrists aspired to realise idea of a revolutionary reorganisation. A monarchy, under the project

P.I.Pestel (1793-1826), should give way to the republican board guaranteeing the natural rights and personal freedoms. It denied a principle of division of the authorities, but the power supreme bodies (National Veche, the Majestic Duma, the Supreme Cathedral) suggested to form by realisation of the general suffrage.

In second half of XIX-th century the political thought of Russia tested considerable influence of the European socialism and anarchism. It made active those forces in Russia which denied the forms which have developed in it of statehood. However representatives of radical political thought of more attention gave to implementers of the ideals.

Revolutionaries-democrats V.G.Belinsky (1811-1848), A.I.Herzen (1812-1870), N.G.Chernyshevsky (1828-1889), (1840-1868) considered as D.I.Pisarev armed revolt by unique means of overthrow of autocracy. In their opinion, it there should be a country revolution which will establish «social republic» with the Supreme power of the people. Revolutionaries-democrats considered as a basis of the future economic and political system a country community. In it their utopianism as already then the community did not represent uniform formation was shown, it was stratified. On N.G.Chernyshevsky, in «social republic» the legislature belongs to the people, and the government should be responsible before it. The right of the people presented by National Meeting, - to supervise executive power.

Hostility to the western liberalism and the constitutionalism which has developed in the West to the state institutes is distinctly traced and in русском анархизме. Its supporters negatively concerned not only is concrete to Russian, calling for its overthrow, but to any state and the right limiting freedom of individuals. Representatives of anarchism M.A.Bakunin (1814-1876) and P.A.Kropotkin (1842-1912) started with the thesis that the state is angrily as disturbs to natural existence of people. Anarchy, on M.A.Bakunin, - «is the free union of agricultural and factory working associations, communities, areas and the people, and, at last, in more long-term future - the universal brotherhood triumphing on ruins of all future states». M.A.Bakunin criticised K.Marx's idea about proletariat dictatorship, including its form of suppression of one part of a society another.

P.A.Kropotkin named an ideal of the future device «anarchical communism». He understood the free union of the self-coping communities which basis become free взаимосоглашения people As it. Over them there will be no Supreme prices -

тральной the authorities. Certainly, ideals of anarchists are unrealizable, however their criticism of the state socialism corrupting influences of the power on the person, requirements of justice and respect of the rights and freedom of the individual define their importance in the history of political thought of Russia.

Control questions to a theme

1. Name the factors which have caused features of development of political thought in Russia.

2. What distinctive features of development of political ideas in Russia?

3. Compare, as the maintenance of the Russian political ideas in XI and in XIV centuries changed

4. How the power nature in the Russian political thought speaks?

5. Why development of political ideas is closely connected with state development?

6. How ideas of the French Education have affected development of political thought in Russia?

7. Compare V.N.Tatischev and F.Prokopovicha's political ideas.

8. In what feature of liberal political ideas in Russia?

9. What basic ideas of Russian conservatism?

10. In what sense of political ideas of A.N.Radishcheva?

11. What essence of the political concept of anarchism?

Logic tasks and problem questions

1. Compare two points of view of a parity of the purpose and means in the politician:

"The end justifies the means" (N.Makiavelli);

«The purpose leaves in an abstract distance, means remain a direct reality... When apply malicious means opposite to the purposes the purpose never reach, all replace with means and about the purposes forget, or they turn to pure rhetoric... The Purpose makes sense only in the event that it to start to carry out now, here» (H.A. Бердяев).

2. In the work «the Course of the state science» among other questions B.N.Tchitcherin has considered also a multi-party system problem. For an objective estimation of a principle of multi-party system in creation of a lawful state it has revealed its merits and demerits:

PRO

• All major political problems receive all-round public illumination.

• opposition Presence forces the government to fulfil the promises made by it, to operate effectively.

• At party members the discipline necessary for political strike is brought up.

• In the course of political confrontation on in the lead positions the most talented people are selected.

CONTRA

• the Accessory of the individual to party forms at it unilateral understanding of the validity as he should look at it eyes of this party.

• "Spirit" of the party covers disinterested service to general welfare as the behaviour of the person is subordinated to interests of party.

• For a victory over the opponent of party appeal to low instincts of weights.

• In party political strike use the dirtiest means: slander, lie etc.

• Incessant struggle against opposition weakens the forces of the government necessary for it for creation.

Whether you agree with B.N.Tchitcherin's estimations? For the answer give reason.