Presidential library - about ideological pursuit of Aksakov

To the 200th anniversary of the birth of the famous Russian historian-Slavophil and publicist Konstantin Sergeyevich Aksakov (1817-1860), which is celebrated on April 10, 2017, the Presidential Library presents little-known publications about him and his opposition to “Westerners” – even though they just like the Slavophil, according to Herzen's opinion, equally dearly loved Russia.

Konstantin Aksakov was born in the Aksakov Village of Orenburg Province, surrounded by a spaciousness of countryside and special affection of his relatives and house servants. From the age of 9, after the family moved to Moscow, he was growing up in an atmosphere of hospitable and lavish lifestyle, firmly adhering to the Old Russian tradition. He learned to read from the age of four, and, being brought up at home, had unconstrained access to a multi-volume home library.

The time of Aksakov's studies at Moscow University coincided with the epoch of a sadden change in his ambiance. The young professors Nadezhdin, Shevyrev, Pogodin, and others have brought in it a special spirit of Schelling's ideas and Hegelian philosophy so popular among the students, - a real religious cult was made out of the latter. “Konstantin Aksakov paid homage to the general hobby, - as said in the 1910 year Historical and literary library. Early Slavophil collected works, - according to his brother I. Aksakov, Konstantin in his dissertation on Lomonosov (1844) “unmercifully drew on and bent so heavy, tight Hegelian formulas to his interpretation of Russian history.” At that time Belinsky, Bakunin, Stankevich, Turgenev and others accepted in good faith any word of the famous philosopher.”

A theme of free choice of values and ideals – as for individual, so for the nation in whole - deeply troubled Aksakov as a researcher, attempting in any cases to find the truly national roots of mentality.

In the Complete collected works by Konstantin Sergeyevich Aksakov the author wrote: “The ethical exploit of life is up to every person, but also the entire nations, and each person and each nation decides it in their own, choosing one or another way to accomplish it. The history offers us these numerous ways, these many difficult struggles of opposing aspirations, beliefs, and moralities. The terrible play of material forces strikes at first sight; but this is only illusion: an attentive gaze will see the only force, driving everything - a thought that slowly makes its move...” And further: “The morality cause shall also be carried out in a moral way, without the aid of an external, coercive force.”

Aksakov looked for his strong ideological views in Russian roots, in his own study On the ancient way of life among the Slavs in general and among Russians in particular released in 1852: “The family principle of the Slavs was firm, as the founding of a purely moral; it lived in moral freedom, in love, in the human spirit; it was quite pure among the Slavs, because it was not associated with any benefits, and did not ask for any daily allowances.”

Just like his like-minded people, Aksakov formed his own system of views on the prospects of Russia and the place of the entire Slavic world in interaction with other peoples to carry out the mission of a great civilizational breakthrough into the future without wars and violence, with the establishment of the creative and spiritual principles in human being.

A highly gifted Aksakov also showed himself in the literary field, writing the reviews and the poems for the “Telescope,” “Molva” (rumor) and “Moskovsky Nabludatel” (Moscow observer) magazines. In December 1850, Konstantin Sergeyevich produced on the Moscow stage a patriotic drama “The Liberation of Moscow,” excluded from the repertoire on the day after the presentation for the thought communicated in the play that the people, not by the boyars, liberated Moscow. For the article: “Bogatyrs (epic warriors) of Prince Vladimir,” released in the “Moskovsky Sbornik” (Moscow collected works) for 1853, banned by the censorship, the author along with other colleagues was assigned for police surveillance. In journalism he returned only in 1856, when he took an active part in the founding of the “Russkaya Beseda” (Russian conversation) magazine. Then Aksakov himself edited the weekly newspaper “Moscow,” in which he was actively published.

In 1859, Aksakov's father Sergei Timofeyevich died. Konstantin Sergeyevich, who had an iron health before, did not recover from his death and slowly began to melt. He died alone on the Greek Zante Island, where, at the insistence of the doctors, he moved several days before his death.