Klyuchevsky as a Historian and Political Scientist

Abstract

In the article, the author analyzes the division of culture that took place during the Renaissance. Studying the later works of a Russian imperial historian Vasily Klyuchevsky, the author concluded that there were two opposing cultures — “first culture”, which represented traditional values of the state, and the new “second culture” — a culture of early modernity, which focused on liberal thought. According to the author’s arguments, Klyuchevsky was a very talented pedagogue and a very prolific political scientist, perhaps first of its kind in Russia. He developed numerous scientific approaches to history as a science, which have led to the emergence of the so-called “l’École Russe” — a school of thought and a continental system of methodic procedures that have greatly advanced European civic sciences. As an experienced political analyst, he objectively assessed the Russian state and its ruling elite. However, perhaps his greatest achievement was in showcasing the insolvency of the liberal route of development in the Russian Empire. Klyuchevsky saw a great humanitarian disaster in the advancement of liberalism in Russia, as it has fractured the national and historical system of values of the Russian people. In contemporary Russia, this problem, highlighted by V. Klyuchevsky, has become even more urgent. The defeat in the Cold War has made the country dependent on culture dominated by liberal thought, which was forcefully introduced into Russia by the supporters of the pro-western path of development in the late twentieth century. And unless a major step towards reanimation of traditional culture as well as a socio-political system is consciously pursued by the current regime, Russia might lose the remains of its sovereignty.