Inner freedom in Russian philosophy

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines the Russian concept of inner freedom by means of a study of the work of various pre-revolutionary, Soviet, and post-Soviet thinkers, namely Ignatii Brianchaninov, Konstantin Aksakov, Boris Chicherin, Vladimir Solov’ev, Nikolai Berdiaev, Ivan Il′in, Andrei Amal′rik, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Igor′ Evlampiev, and Ol′ga Sedakova. These thinkers have defined inner freedom as obedience to moral imperatives, but an obedience freely chosen, dependent on the elimination of internal and external obstacles that prevent individuals from choosing between right and wrong and acting in accordance with their consciences. The article outlines a conservative liberal tradition within Russian philosophy that has often shown a strong preference for inner freedom over outer freedom. This preference has led some of those within this tradition to be tolerant of authoritarian forms of government, but at the same time to resist totalitarianism on the grounds that the latter intrudes on inner freedom. The result is a political philosophy that to many observers may seem paradoxical, being both liberal and illiberal at the same time.