Yu. N. Solonin on the socio-political philosophy of conservatism

Abstract

Professor of the St Petersburg State University Yu. N. Solonin to the study of global and Russian conservatism, analyzes his works on the problems of philosophy and axiology of politics and political ideology. The author shows that political philosophy of Solonin was theoretically grounded Center for comprehensive study of conservatism at the Philosophy Department of the St Petersburg State University. It is pointed out that many well-known specialists from St Petersburg and other regions of Russia took an active part in the work for the Study of Conservatism Center. They investigated the substantial characteristics of conservatism as a complex socio-cultural and intellectual phenomenon and the historical-philosophical preconditions of conservatism. Solonin’s works creatively developed the concepts by Russian scholars dealt with conservatism, and it helped to organize a research school of comprehensive study of conservatism. The article offers an analysis of Solonin’s writings on conservatism while he was leading the Study of Conservatism Center. The works by Solonin and other scholars revealed the main features of conservatism’s philosophy, such as holism, organicism, traditionalism, etatism, and irrationalism; they analyzed the historical, cultural, political-legal and socioeconomic preconditions of the genesis of European and Russian conservatism. The article argues that a special attention in Solonin’s theoretical heritage was paid to the analysis of the problem of liberal-conservative synthesis. He specifically analyzed the potentialities of liberalconservative synthesis and proved that various non-classical forms of political ideologies are being formed in modern conditions. Solonin also noted the complex and diverse ideological currents of conservatism in Russia, its being conditioned by the traditional way of Russian society, the attitude of the people to the state.