Was Gogol a Slavophile writer? A view from Serbia

Abstract

The article is concerned with the Slavic question in Gogol’s journalism and that of the Russian Slavophiles as it was perceived in Serbia. The study was prompted by the author’s discovery of an article printed in the Serbian journal Ljetopis (1860) where Gogol is referred to as a Slavophile. This somewhat biased inclusion of Gogol into the circle of Khomyakov and the brothers Aksakov stemmed from the fact that his view of Slavic issues resembled that of the authors of Russkaya Beseda. Sartakov argues that Gogol decidedly avoided taking sides in the central dispute of the period — the rift between the Slavophiles and the Westernizers — and criticized extreme opinions expressed by both parties. According to Sartakov, Gogol’s ideological affinity with Khomyakov, the brothers Aksakov, and others proves that, rather than being influenced by their ideas, Gogol’s view on Slavic history had the same origins. To support his point, the scholar cites Gogol’s little-known sketch about the Slavs, in which the writer posits that they stood in profound civilizational contrast to their European counterparts, especially Germanic tribes.