Excellent roundtable discussion. What a privlege to abe able to read a discussion with all of these prominent Russian specialists. I only wish that Professor Stephen F. Cohen were still here to lend his much needed voice.
Not at the level of deep reasoning, but rather a reaction: has the West deserved the Russian mission? For what reason should we try, enlighten someone, explain something?
If you are interested, I found a link to your article in this https://kot-begemott.livejournal.com/ journal. Its author thinks a lot about the Russian idea.
It seems to me that a profound understanding of Orthodoxy is required to understand Russian "messianism". Just like a deep understanding of Catholicism, the Enlightenment, Protestantism, etc. are required to understand the West, even though at first glance it seems these are all vestiges of history.
There is minimal understanding of Orthodoxy in the West not only due to the blinders resulting from having been brought up on Western exceptionalism, but also the confusion resulting from paying undue attention to the significant class of Westernizing Russians from Peter the Great the intelligentsia, the Marxists, etc. onwards to the present bourgeoisie.
It seems to me from this discussion that Mr Grenier sees the Orthodoxy in Russia viz his remarks on Dostoevsky.
Excellent roundtable discussion. What a privlege to abe able to read a discussion with all of these prominent Russian specialists. I only wish that Professor Stephen F. Cohen were still here to lend his much needed voice.
Thanks. A useful, and on balance reassuring, discussion.
Not at the level of deep reasoning, but rather a reaction: has the West deserved the Russian mission? For what reason should we try, enlighten someone, explain something?
If you are interested, I found a link to your article in this https://kot-begemott.livejournal.com/ journal. Its author thinks a lot about the Russian idea.
It seems to me that a profound understanding of Orthodoxy is required to understand Russian "messianism". Just like a deep understanding of Catholicism, the Enlightenment, Protestantism, etc. are required to understand the West, even though at first glance it seems these are all vestiges of history.
There is minimal understanding of Orthodoxy in the West not only due to the blinders resulting from having been brought up on Western exceptionalism, but also the confusion resulting from paying undue attention to the significant class of Westernizing Russians from Peter the Great the intelligentsia, the Marxists, etc. onwards to the present bourgeoisie.
It seems to me from this discussion that Mr Grenier sees the Orthodoxy in Russia viz his remarks on Dostoevsky.