Igor Ogurtsov: A Visionary Orthodox Thinker Ahead of His Time

Abstract

Based on the author’s collected memories of participants in the events described, memoirs, journalistic articles published in Russian and Russian emigrant publications, as well as on the documentary materials of the classified court proceedings that took place in Leningrad in 1967–1968, the article recounts the history and ideology of the underground anti-communist organization — the All-Russian Social Christian Union for the Liberation of the People (VSKhSON). The publication focuses on the fate of the founder of the All-Russian Social Christian Union for the Liberation of the People, the outstanding Russian Orthodox thinker Igor Vyacheslavovich Ogurtsov, who, in the early 1960s, along with a group of his associates, advocated for the synthesis of Christianity, patriotism, and social ideas against the communist system. Particular attention is given to the Program of the All-Russian Social Christian Union for the Liberation of the People. Written by Igor Ogurtsov 60 years ago, it remains relevant today in both scientific and political contexts. The author of the Program, while analyzing the communist system, not only predicted the inevitability of communism’s collapse but also proposed a specific path for the rebirth of Russia after the fall of the “party dictatorship” — a path rejecting the extremities of both socialist and capitalist perspectives and implying the country’s further development based on the principles of sociality and Christian ideals.