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Boris Chicherin--Philosopher of Justice
| Article
# : |
13001 |
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Section : |
Modern Thought
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| Issue
Date : |
5 / 1987 |
5,742 Words |
| Author
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Valery G. Kalensky
Valery G. Kalensky is a former Russian legal historian, author
of a number of books, including State as an Object of
Sociological Analysis, James Madison, and Civil Liberties in
the Constituional History of the U.S.A. He was recently a
guest fellow at Kennan Institute, where he prepared a
manuscript on B.N. Chicherin's contribution to political
science and philosophy of law. Now an independent scholar, he
resides in Washington, D.C. |
I felt tempted to begin this article with an epigraph borrowed from Nikolai Berdyaev who claims that "in Chicherin there can be studied a spirit which was opposed to the Russian Idea as it was expressed in the prevailing tendencies of Russian thought in the nineteenth century."
Ultimately, I gave up this epigraph. I decided that to use this notion to depict Chicherin would be unfair both to Chicherin and to Berdyaev. For both of these writers expressed the Russian Idea, each in his own unique way. No matter how strong the positions of radical populists in the second half of the nineteenth century, there were other important currents of Russian thought whose historical importance should be acknowledged.
Chicherin's political philosophy belonged partly to one flow of Russian thought--liberalism. Liberalism was composed of ideas that changed with each new decade. Among the liberal philosophers, Boris Chicherin was unique: he exhibited a rare combination of genius, erudition, and an aristocratic outlook. In addition, Chicherin was the sole remaining representative of his generation at the end of the nineteenth century.
Boris Nikolayevich Chicherin was born in 1828 into the family of a rich and educated Russian landlord. He entered Moscow University in 1845 when it was headed by such brilliant Russian intellectuals as Granovsky, Redkin, Solovyov, and Kavelin. These celebrated academics advocated a dedication to the search for truth, a love of history, and a critical attitude toward all authority. Granovsky's lectures, in particular, focused on historical and juridical science in Russia. They were characterized by their optimistic and progressive vision of history, as well as a deep, humanistic belief in liberty, right, and justice. According to Isaiah Berlin:
[Granovsky] combined erudition with a very balanced intellect, and was not carried away by extravagant theories. Nevertheless, he was Hegelian enough to believe that the universe must have a pattern and a goal, that this goal was slowly being approached, that humanity was marching toward freedom, although the path was by no means smooth or straight: obstacles occurred . . . relapses were frequent and difficult to avert.
It was Granovsky, with both his romantic and rationalist Hegelian belief in human freedom and dignity, who had the greatest influence on Chicherin. His influence was to determine Chicherin's vision of history, law, and politics. Although Chicherin later came to a
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