Lev Karsavin on the Religious Meaning of Bolshevism and Russian Revolution

Abstract

The article examines the unique role of the Russian émigré intellectual Lev Platonovich Karsavin (1882–1952) in understanding “Russian communism” as a phenomenon of a deep religious nature. It is noted that the young Karsavin was formed as a historian, a specialist in the history of European religiosity, medieval sects and heresies, various forms of interweaving between religion and politics. This experience of specific historical and cultural research helped Karsavin, who became an active figure in Russian Orthodoxy during the First World War, in analyzing the origins of the Russian revolution and Bolshevism. Having found himself in exile in 1922, Karsavin continued to actively develop the theme of the “religious” nature of Russian Bolshevism, believing that only along this path would it be possible in the future to overcome it from the standpoint of Orthodox Christianity.