The genesis of the Russian intelligentsia

Zabneva Elvira Ivanovna ORCID: 0000-0002-7299-517X Director, Novokuznetsk branch of T. F. Gorbachev Kuzbass State Technical University 654000, Russia, Kemerovskaya oblast', g. Novokuznetsk, ul. Ordzhonikidze, 7 zabnevailvira@mail.ru Other publications by this author

 The Russian intelligentsia is a very special phenomenon in the world, whose historical significance and basic idea are determined by the relationship with the state.

It traces its lineage back to Peter's reform, gradually moving from a state of circle isolation to the position of a certain social group. "Individual employees of Peter, schoolmates at the court of Elizabeth, opposition Freemasons and radicals of Catherine's time, then military conspirators, readers and admirers of Belinsky, like-minded Chernyshevsky, students, the "third element", trade unions, political parties — its gradually expanding, concentric circles" ^{[9, p.296]}.

Ideologically, the Russian intelligentsia was prepared in the 30-40s of the century before last in the sentiments of Chaadaev, the psychological prerequisites of which were the secession of the Chatskys, Onegins and Pechorins, and in this sense it was a characteristic product of its time, the time of "timelessness" and "superfluous people".

Then it developed in two opposing currents of Russian ideological and social thought – Slavophilism and Westernism. These were the first manifestations of intellectual creativity in Russia, which received social and political significance ^[11]. Despite the fact that both directions drew their ideas from the same source, which was German idealistic philosophy (Hegel and Feuerbach), both equally longed for the liberation of the peasants, the restriction of bureaucratic guardianship, the broad formulation of public education, freedom of conscience and the press, there was a discord between them due to a different understanding of Russian history, national the peculiarities of the Russian people and their vocation in the future.  "Westerners were patriots no less than Slavophiles (it is enough to recall Belinsky and Herzen), but they did not idealize Moscow Russia, as the Slavophiles did, glorified Peter, whom the Slavophiles hated, and, finally, disagreed with them on religious and confessional issues" ^{[11, p. 392]}.

It was they who prepared the ground for subsequent ideologies that emerged from the second half of the 50s: on the one hand, populism emerged as one of the narrowest ideologies, placing the idea of the people, serving their good at the center of the system; on the other hand, nihilism emerged, which grew out of the materialistic philosophy of Moleschott and Buchner and the cult of natural sciences, denying generally accepted values, ideals and norms, questioning the fundamental foundations of being ^[3].

But very soon, already in the first half of the 60s, these ideas were pushed aside by Auguste Comte, an era of domination of positive philosophy began, ideologically used by Mikhailovsky and Lavrov, who pointed out the antinomian nature of the individual and society. Personality in the theory of representatives of the subjective school was considered as the main driving force of the historical process, the nature of the changes taking place in society was primarily determined by its moral characteristics and the level of consciousness ^[8]. 

Then utopian socialism of the 70s played a major role in the history of Russian ideological and moral development, becoming the most original and independent product of Russian ideological creativity. The doctrine of the possibility of transforming society on socialist principles, of its just structure for a certain period of time occupied the minds of the Russian intelligentsia. Overcoming the usual notions of equalization and universal asceticism, utopians put forward the principle of distribution "according to abilities", portrayed the future society as a society of abundance, ensuring the satisfaction of human needs, unlimited growth of productive forces and the flourishing of personality ^[18].

Then Marxist materialism spread, claiming that the progress of society is determined by the development of the material conditions of existence of a given society, changes in the relationship of classes in the process of production and distribution of material goods, their struggle for a role and place in this area ^[12].

 And finally, idealism and mysticism, prepared back in the 80s and acted as the main ideologies in the first years of the next century. However, these are more ideological searches on general philosophical and religious themes – the search for God and the God-building of Struve, Gershenzon, Berdyaev and others.

Thus, it can be argued that the main driving force behind the genesis of the Russian intelligentsia of the XIX century was an ideology that arose on the basis of the dominance of certain European ideas, gradually replacing each other. The distinctive features of the Russian intelligentsia of this period were anti-statehood, irreligion and cosmopolitanism.

The twentieth century was marked in a completely different way, its beginning was marked by the idea of the proletarian revolution, the departure of the autocracy from the political arena, which led, on the one hand, to the lack of demand in political circles, and in society as a whole, and even the physical destruction of the old intelligentsia, on the other hand, to the emerging type of the new Soviet intelligentsia.  The ideology was replaced by a political party, a new type of intellectual has matured – without a specific ideology, but with very specific principles and a developed social and political direction.  The educational mission of ideologies has been replaced by a broader cultural activity of intelligent forces, determined and driven no longer by one or another ideological doctrine, but by the recognition of the high value of spiritual goods and the conviction of the need for their widest possible dissemination among the masses of the people.

By the middle of the century, it had transformed into a stable layer of intellectuals of various professional orientations: military, artistic, technical, medical, scientific… It was a special socio-psychological type of person with certain national and cultural characteristics. He saw the meaning of human life in building a happy life, serving the people, bringing benefits to society. The main task was to get out of the post-war devastation as soon as possible, striving to build a new strong and free country. The intellectual was viewed through the prism of his interrelationships with society and his certainty, involvement in the historical process within the framework of the struggle of the broad masses of workers for their liberation from exploitation and other forms of oppression. The emphasis was placed on the problem of the formation of the communist personality type of the intellectual, his comprehensive and harmonious development ^[1].

Already by the sixties, the anthropological turn, caused basically by the atmosphere of the so-called "thaw", i.e. some liberalization of the Soviet political and ideological regime, became a sign of the emergence of new attitudes, approaches and ideas in the intelligentsia.  With the active defense of the thesis about man as "not a man in general, but a social, concrete, historical, productive person", "a man of life, a man of labor, transformation, the ruler of nature", "a man free both in relation to natural and social laws to the extent of awareness of their necessity" ^[17]; appeared awareness of a certain independence of a person from society, i.e. his relative autonomy and, accordingly, his individual originality ^[16]. For the first time in the intelligentsia, an understanding of the meaning of life was manifested not only in serving society, but also in serving oneself, in achieving personal development ^[6].

But already in the seventies, the changing political ideology, aimed at combating the resurgent "reactionary" bourgeois worldview with its "abstract" perception of man, saw in the intelligentsia an individual "detached from the class", "a personality isolated from social relations and class struggle", which caused another protest on its part ^[19].

The main issue of the intelligentsia of the eighties was the way of formation of legal and political culture, the acquisition of freedom of speech. However, raising the consciousness of the masses to the understanding of the need for change, exciting the population of Russia by expressing dissatisfaction with the existing orders and political system, the intelligentsia could not keep the reforms it initiated within the framework of the civilizational transformation of the country; it could not formulate a mechanism for translating its ideas into practical life, but left their execution to more determined figures, far from true intelligence, but having the will to power, thereby preparing a coup and a change in the socio-political system. As a result of the transformation of the political system, the social structures of Russian society have undergone such changes that required serious adaptation. Ideals and beliefs were mercilessly destroyed by social reality, and new ones were not offered.

Acting as the main force in the process of "overturning" the "red wheel", the intelligentsia was not ready either itself, let alone did not prepare the people it called for, for the collapse of the country and the destruction of all previous social value orientations. As a result, at the turn of the century, some publicly admitted their guilt and misconceptions, realizing at the same time that nothing could be returned; others preferred to become the "elite of thinking", focusing on academic activities; others turned their eyes to the West, believing that a way out was possible only with the help of the world community; others left the country altogether in search of a better life and El Dorado.

As a result of the collapse, "the intelligentsia gradually lost its special and special face" ^{[15, p. 15]}.  In the post-reform Russia of the XXI century, there was no conceptual unity in the awareness of the "Russian intelligentsia" as a phenomenon. Some believe that there is no more intelligentsia in modern reality, only a certain image, recreated from archaeological finds, remains: "Over the centuries, time and environment have changed, and with these changes the image of an intellectual has gone into oblivion" ^{[7, p. 27]}. And he is not in demand by today's life, the authorities and the people: "The market and consumer society, based on individualism and selfishness, do not tolerate sacrifice and the true manifestation of the best human qualities, ridicule and condemn them" ^{[7, p. 28]}.  The "intelligentsia" was replaced by the "middle class" and the "creative layer".

Others enthusiastically declare that the Russian intelligentsia with its "bright personality, unique temperament and positively directed activity" continues to create its glorious image in Russian history ^{[14, p. 117]}.

The intelligentsia itself to a greater extent today does not see itself as a recognized and clearly defined social group, its self-consciousness is fragmented and contradictory as never before.  With a common desire for social change, there is a paradoxical contrast of opinions and behavior - from radical denial, anomie, indifference, refusal to actively manifest one's public face, to the possibility of receiving various political and economic dividends.

Analyzing the features that characterize the modern intelligentsia, it is possible to identify those that have been transformed in some way over two centuries, but have remained traditional in their essence, and completely new features are products of real reality.

Mental activity, as the main feature characterizing the intelligentsia and distinguishing it from the rest of the population, has remained its main feature.   Even today, the intelligentsia is a thinking environment where mental goods, so-called "spiritual values" are developed ^[10].  At the same time, the interests of distribution and equation in the consciousness and feelings of the Russian intelligentsia continue to dominate the interests of production and creativity.

The isolation of the intelligentsia from the people remains its fatal characteristic. Our intelligentsia, striving for the public good, even today arrogantly opposes itself to the "philistines". Arrogance and conceit, the consciousness of their infallibility and disregard for the common people, in their opinion, stupidly led by the state into the abyss of barbarism, increasingly moving away from European civilization, distinguishes the Russian intellectual. Brought up on abstract schemes of enlightenment, supplemented by cosmopolitanism and globalization, the modern intellectual suffers from the lack of a healthy national identity.

To this day (today even more so), the Russian intelligentsia continues to perceive, as the only true word of Western civilization. Starting with Voltaire and the materialism of the French encyclopedists, then atheistic socialism, later materialism, positivism, humanism, criticism...., the intelligentsia lives with full confidence that Russia should instill in itself the most authentic European civilization. Russian Russian intelligentsia, however, in its Westernism, does not go beyond the external assimilation of the latest political and social ideas, does not consider it necessary to refract them on Russian soil, does not take into account either Russian culture or Russian consciousness. What happened was predicted by D.A. Granin, "the Russian intelligentsia, unfortunately, will soon be replaced by Western intellectuals" ^[5].

And today, inspired by its special role in the life of society, our intelligentsia feels called upon to play the role of Providence in relation to its homeland ^[2], where everything, as it seems to it, is engulfed in impenetrable darkness, everything remains so barbaric and alien. Our intellectual, especially in difficult times, falls into a state of heroic ecstasy, with a clearly hysterical tinge, sincerely believing that Russia must be saved. However, the modern intellectual suffering from "Jacobinism", striving for the redistribution of power in the name of saving the people, unlike the intellectual of the past, is not ready to tolerate external persecution, persecution, struggle with vicissitudes, danger and even death. Being glad for the freedom and inviolability of the individual, this very person worries our intellectual to the least extent today, otherwise he would have stayed with her to experience sorrows and troubles, and not fled abroad.

The main dogma of the Russian intelligentsia continues to be the belief in social progress carried out by the forces of society, therefore there is no personal guilt or personal responsibility, and the whole task of social organization is to overcome external disorders, of course, by external reforms.

And today the Russian intelligentsia calls on a doctor and an engineer, a teacher and a miner to be guided in the performance of their duties not by conscience and the dictates of duty, but by the desire to receive a social miracle from the authorities, does not cultivate a sense of connection with the past and appreciation for this past, but suggests forgetting it for the sake of a bright future. The revolutionary consciousness of the Russian intelligentsia still dominates the creative one. With their worldview, skills, tastes, even social habits, they continue to involve the people in a state of fermentation, causing negativity and rejection of the ruling power in them.

What is new in our intelligentsia? First of all, the features of "underground" psychology have gone. On the contrary, today I want to shout as loudly as possible and in brighter colors about the problems facing society. Modern speakers neglect nothing to be heard. Their "eloquence" bases its power of persuasion not on the truth, but on artificially selected facts, unceremoniously shifting the emphasis to the negative side, intimidating the people with the terrible consequences of the actions of the ruling political power, attributing to it all the "sins" that cause unconditional public condemnation.

If the Russian intelligentsia in previous generations was characterized by a sense of guilt before the people, a kind of "social repentance", then today you will not find a "penitent nobleman", but you will only see a "non-party intellectual" forcing the authorities to repent.  It shifts all responsibility to the motherland and history to the ruling elite, of course hateful, fiscal and hypocritical. The concepts of personal responsibility and personal self-improvement are extremely unpopular among the intelligentsia today. That is why, to paraphrase S.N. Bulgakov, "with such an abundance of intelligentsia-accusers, there are so few simply decent, disciplined, able-bodied people" ^{[2, p. 31]}. Imaginary patriotism, based on the declaration of the shortcomings and problems of public life, takes her far away from the awareness of personal duty and its fulfillment, and, moreover, contributes little to spiritual self-denial and humility.

Unfortunately, the most sensitive souls - young people - fall under such a magical influence to a greater extent. The favorable soil of youthful maximalism blissfully absorbs the ideas of the struggle against arbitrariness and social injustice. They fascinate their minds, having no life experience, young people sincerely begin to believe that the reasons preventing the establishment of an earthly paradise lie not inside, but outside of a person - in his social situation, in the imperfections of the social mechanism. Hence the absolutization of distribution, the desire to receive from the available goods here and now, and not to create and produce in a long period.

Silverlessness has ceased to be a distinctive feature of the Russian intelligentsia. Of course, people had previously "achieved personal success, tried to get a better job, but it was done as if with their eyes closed, with a secret consciousness of their dishonesty, so our intelligentsia did not have a rampant business and careerism" ^{[4, p. 107]}, today the morality of altruism has disappeared, "cynicism rules the ball, firmly the prevailing consumer lifestyle plunged the intellectual into material contentment.

Russian Russian intelligentsia's ideological form has been and remains its alienation from the state and hostility to it, and we continue to observe examples of Russian revolutionary consciousness aimed at the denial of individuals in power. The inoculation of the political radicalism of intellectual ideas with the social radicalism of popular instincts has already been accomplished twice with stunning rapidity. And once again, the intelligentsia easily and rapidly leads the people to the path of political and social revolutionization, stepping on the same rake, it once again believes that the "progress" of society can be not the fruit of human perfection, but a bet that should be thwarted in the historical game, appealing to popular excitement. P.A. Sorokin was right when he wrote: "A society that does not know how to live, which is unable to develop, gradually reforming, and therefore entrusting itself to the crucible of the revolution, is forced to pay for its sins with the death of a good part of its members. And this is a contribution, eternally demanded by the almighty Sovereign" ^{[13, p. 294]}.  And at the same time, the intelligentsia itself always forgets that it often has to pay for "sins" and act as a "good part of its members".

Today, time dictates the need to move to a fundamentally new type of civilizational development, where the key question of values that set the guidelines for this transition arises again. The armed export of revolution and brutal pressure should be replaced by "soft power" — influence through culture, values, lifestyle.

There is an active search for concepts that could explain modern world processes. At the same time, those European ideas that have been in circulation in Russian humanities for decades have demonstrated their complete isolation from the Russian context, and disbelief in their own capabilities and creative potential has not yet been overcome by the Russian intelligentsia.

In order for society to move into a new state, we need guidelines, goals that the majority would like to achieve, and someone should lead to new heights, consciously bear their difficult cross, be a moral, moral example, sacrificing themselves... And in this process, it is the intelligentsia, as a generator of the thought field, as two centuries ago, can play a major role.  Only she, who has already experienced so many events, so many experiences, so many theories and so many disappointments, needs to understand that the only way to revive the spirit of Russia lies through awareness of everyone's personal responsibility, and start with herself.