Ivan Bunin and George Fedotov: A Discourse on the 1917 Revolution in Philosophical and Literary Thought of the Silver Age

Russian Journal of Philosophical Sciences (Filosofskie nauki). 2020. Vol. 63. No. 6. P. 82–95.

Klepikova J.

The article discusses the dominant topic of Russian emigrant historiosophy: discourse on the Russian revolution of 1917 and its interpretation by I.A. Bunin and G.P. Fedotov. The author looks for parallel assessments of the 1917 Revolution that arise from philosophical and journalistic works of Ivan Bunin and George Fedotov. The author reveals similarities in the views of the fiction writer and the religious thinker and ideas of key Russian authors of the Silver Age of Russian culture. The article analyzes the specifics of comprehension of historical events in philosophical and artistic circles of the Silver Age, as a part of historiosophical discourse about Russia. The materials involved show that the purpose and content of historiosophical thinking were not mere reconstruction or chronological statement of facts but were aimed at identifying spiritual causes of the troublesome period in Russia and the hidden cultural meaning of revolutionary events. The scope of this research involves philosophical and literary works of Bunin and Fedotov in which they comprehend the patterns of development of Russia and conceive the logic of collapse of its state, culture, and historical social order. The paper focuses on commonness of the philosophizing trajectory and the shared emigrant fate of these bright representatives of Russian emigration. A special attention is paid to the way of arranging of historiosophical narrative of Russian revolution in philosophical, literary, and journalistic texts of Russian émigrés. The unique value of both thinkers consists in the intense sublimation of their spiritual experience, their fusion with the fate of Russia; and political emigration only increased the productive power of these outstanding talents.

Keywords: philosophy of culture, русская революция, Russian Revolution, историософия, Russian literature of Silver Age, Russian philosophy abroad, historiosophy, русская литература Серебряного века, философия культуры, философы русского зарубежья

Publication based on the results of: Russia and Europe: an analysis of intellectual traditions (2020)