On the genealogy of the ‘Russian nihilist.’ A. Herzen’s and D. Pisarev’s literary-anthropological studies

Abstract

In each historical period, starting from the mid-19th c., Russian nihilism represents an uncompromising social and aesthetic response to challenges of political and cultural reality. In order to fully appreciate the phenomenon of Russian nihilism as an inexhaustible supply of literary and philosophical ideas and social and political activism, it is necessary to identify and defne the subject of nihilistic discourse and then trace its genealogy. In their studies, the prominent Russian thinkers A. Herzen and D. Pisarev proposed their original genealogical concepts of the ‘Russian nihilist.’ Their comparative analysis reveals a number of converging points with regard to the artistic and anthropological types preceding the ‘Russian nihilist.’ However, while Pisarev insisted on a continuous, linear and inevitable process that brought about the ‘Russian nihilist,’ Herzen’s historic-philosophical views determined his theory of a more sporadic process.