The Fate of the Russian inTelligentsia in the XX Century. Re-Reading Milestones

Abstract

The article provides an analysis of historical events in Russia in the 20th century from the point of view of the influence of the Russian intelligentsia on them, its the­oretical and practical activities. The starting point for the author is the collection Milestones (1909) and the criticism of the intelligentsia, which is the main meaning of the articles in this collection. The author shows that, despite the great influence of the intellectuals on the fate of Russia, they was not able to fully realize its ideals, and the fate of many of them was tragic. Their ideals were in contradiction with the real life of Russia, and later of the Soviet Union, they did not take into account the peculiarities of the development of the Russian and then the Soviet state and society. Their attempts to go against social practice inevitably ended in failure, while the de­sire to act in accordance with social practice often led to results that were contrary to their ideals. According to the author, the fate of the Russian intelligentsia in the 20th century confirmed the correctness of the materialist understanding of history, according to which, in the absence of ideals, movement forward has neither a driv­ing force nor a direction, and without reliance on practice, all ideals turn into utopia. Therefore, the correct solution to the problem of connecting excellent ideals and ob­jective practice is a matter of high political art. In the process of modernizing a backward state, the intelligentsia has a special mission.