Issue ? 38. June 2013

Political Texts by Florenskiy: Author's Meanings and the Power of Interpretation (on the Example of 'Presumed Organization of Future State')

Senior researcher, Moscow Institute for Education Development; graduate student, School of Public Administration, Lomonosov Moscow State University.
E-mail: vyonder@mail.ru

The article analyses the circumstances of writing and the main thesis of “Presumed organization of the future state”, which was written by an outstanding Russian thinker Pavel Florensky in 1933. It is one of his most controversial works, since it contains a project anti-liberal reforms in the Soviet State. Criticism of liberal-democratic institutions and rejection of the idea of monarchy restoration forced many researchers to doubt the authenticity of the text or to point out a dramatic change in Florensky’ socio-political views in the 1930s. The article proves that his position is a result of Florensky’ self-determination towards the Soviet State and in many ways is a realization of his ideas about the Sacrality of the supreme power and mission of Russia in the world.

Keywords

Pavel Florensky, Russian philosophy, authority, monarchism, conservatism, critique of liberalism, Soviet Union.