“The North has become a Snowy and Icy Desert for me”: The Unsuccessful Journey of Franz von Baader to St. Petersburg in 1822–1823

Abstract

The article reconstructs the circumstances of Franz von Baader's trip to Russia in 1822–1823, whose goal was to create a Russian “Christian academy”. This academy was would take on the task of reuniting science and religion and be built on a different basis than European “atheistic” scientifi c institutions. Baader saw in the Russian educated estates “spontaneous religiosity”, opposed to the destructive impact of atheistic rationalism, capable of “enlightenment” and religious “awakening”. The article contains an analysis of Baader's correspondence, his “A short report to the German public about my literary trip to Russia in the autumn of 1822 and its success” (Kurzer Bericht an das deutsche Publikum über meine im Herbste des Jahres 1822 unternommene literarische Reise nach Russland und deren Erfolg), as well as unpublished documents (in Russian, German and French) found in the archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. These sources make it possible to understand the causes and consequences travels of the German mystic philosopher to Russia. As the author of the article shows, the failure of his project was predetermined by internal political events in Russia, the strengthening of the position of conservative Orthodox circles and the change in the ideological course of Emperor Alexander I with his orientation towards confessional liberalism.