The Influence of the West

Abstract

The Slavophiles, who were most active in the 1840s and 1850s, represented an intellectual group that wanted the future of Russia to be based on its early history. They believed that Peter I (the Great) had corrupted Russia by looking to the West for inspiration. It was a philosophical and political movement that emphasised the rational individuality of Russia and idealised the Russian past, and particularly admired the pre-Petrine period. Basically the movement had liberal aims but was not democratic. The centre of the movement was Moscow and it attracted members of the old aristocracy whose interests included history, philosophy, theology, philology and folklore. Its members included Aleksei A. Khomyakov, Konstantin S. Aksakov, Ivan S. Aksakov, Ivan V. Kireyevsky, Pyotr V. Kireyevsky and Yury F. Samarin, and they were greatly influenced by Friedrich Schelling.