The «Khazar myth» as perceived by the Eurasians and L.N. Gumilyov

Abstract

A problem of continuity has always been a topical subject in Eurasian historiography and the name of L.N. Gumilyov appeard in this context most often. Some researchers recognized the ideological connection between the concept and Gumilyov, while the others rejected continuity and divided them: Russian philosophy of the early 20th century and Soviet scientism of the middle of 20th century. One of the plots is usually used to compare the ideas of the Eurasians and L.N. Gumilyov it is an assessment of the role of the Khazar Kaganate in the history of the Eastern Slavs. Moreover, it was reviewed by the Eurasians and L.N. Gumilyov. G.V. Vernadsky presented the history of Eurasia as a consistent set of attempts to create a unified state. Khazaria existed in the era of disintegration in the context of the state-forming process in Eurasia, based on the principle of rhythm. According to L.N. Gumilyov, the Khazars were colonized by representatives of the Persian and Byzantine branches of the Jewish people. The mix of the Khazar and Jewish ethnic groups was weighed down by the national traditions, which became the determining aspect of their different destinies. The Khazar Kaganate established political power in the Volga Bulgaria and Kievan Rus, had benefited from the intermediary trade between Europe and China, and only Svyatoslavs campaign became a closure of existence of this ethnic chimera. It can be said that the methodological approach of the Eurasians and L.N. Gumilyov to the problem of Khazaria was fundamentally different and the only unifying factor was that these events were unfolding in the space of Russia-Eurasia.