The Religious Sources of Russian Populism

Abstract

c p)OPULISM is etymologically the correct English translation of J Narodnichestvo, but the full original meaning of the word is untranslatable. Nowhere, outside Russia, is an analogous movement or state of mind to be found. In Russia, however, it covers a very extensive field of thought, of life, of ethical and political activity and gives a key to the understanding of the Russian mind, although it certainly does not exhaust of its contents. Narodnichestvo in the accepted and narrow political sense was a trend of Russian socialism-peasant socialism-which based its hopes for the collectivist society of the future upon the Russian mir or village commune. In a broader sense, Narodnichestvo colored many sections of Russian political life. The Marxists and the Westernisers remained outside this trend, but there were Narodniks among the liberals of the Kadet party as well as among the ultra-reactionary Union of the Russian people, which in a sense was also a populist party. Least of is one prepared to meet Narodniks among the Russian beaurocracy, and yet there was a whole department of the government, the Ministry of Agriculture, which was infected with populist tendencies. One of the last of the Narodniks was the Tsar Nicholas II himself. The modern world was strongly distasteful to him. He was romantically fond of ancient Holy and up to the last day of his life preserved his faith in the loyalty and the Christian virtues of simple country folk. He liked contacts with servants and soldiers, sought for spiritual guidance from ignorant monks and holy fools,' and in the end allowed the destiny of the whole Empire to fall into the hands of a fatal Russian muzhik. What then is the broader meaning of Narodnichestvo? It is not easy to give it precise definition. One would be tempted to say all for the and from the people, if this were not so delusively near the classical formula of democracy. In Russia all for the people meant: give up or sacrifice cultural values for the welfare of the people; and all from (not by) the people meant that