The Two Lines of Attitude to the Power in Russia: Analyzing the Controversy between A. I. Herzen and B. N. Chicherin

Abstract

The article deals with the process of divergence of two main ideological currents in Russian thought in the middle of the 19^th century. The start of this process at a turning point in Russian history, at the stage of preparation and beginning of reforms, was given by the controversy of B. N. Chicherin and A. I. Herzen and the public ideological battles that followed. The article analyzes its course, the inclusion of new participants in the controversy, their common worldview positions and their arguments. Two different trends in social thought had two different views on literally all aspects of Russian life. Two “programs” of behavior in relation to the authorities were formed: radical and liberal. If the liberal one was based on the need for cooperation with the authorities conducting reforms, then the radical one believed that everything remains the same, the nature of the government itself does not change, so pressure on the authorities is the only way to promote reforms. The logic and argumentation of these directions are analyzed in the article, as well as the relations of the participants, since there is a lot of “personal” in this story and this “personal” largely determined the course of discussions. The main materials for analysis are letters, memoirs and publications of the main participants of those events.