Lipskiy V.N. Nikolay Berdyaev about Dualism of National Identity

Abstract: The research is devoted to the contradictions of national identity. Nikolay Berdyaev offered a number of antinomies through which contradictory nature of national identity can be viewed. The first antinomy is about passion and intolerance specific for the Russian mind. The researcher demonstrates how passion and intolerance are manifested in various spheres of Russian life. The other antinomy sounds like 'Russia is the most ungoverned country in the world', on the one hand, while on the other hand Berdyaev saw Russia as the country with the most rigid government structure. Methodologically this contradiction was determined by the influence of the East and West which, in its turn, contributed to the development of the Russians' 'messianic consciousness'. Dualism of national identity is an interesting topic not only from the point of view of history taking into account the fact that today's Russia is at another 'turning point' just like in Berdyaev's times but also because Berdyaev's idea about the relationship between national and European values will allow to take another look at what is happening in our country today.

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