Philosophical analysis of narodnik ideology and its origins

The process of forming a united Belarusian nation is very interesting for retrospective reflection. At a certain point, this process coincides with the activity of the Populists in the mid to late XIX century. The ideology of Narodniks is not an ordinary politico-educational teaching for Belarusian realities. It is important to analyze the philosophical grounds implicit in this ideology in order to understand what role it played in the formation of the Belarusian nation.

In the article, 8 controversial philosophical problems are considered, to which the doctrine of Narodniks gives some answers. Purpose is to analyze the position of the Narodniks regarding these issues and to show the main difference between the Belarusian case of Narodniks and the Russian one. Objectives: to reveal the reasons for the appearance of Narodniks, the relationship between Narodniks and the Church, to show controversial theses in the ideology under consideration. Having carried out a this philosophical analysis, one can come to the conclusion that the ideology of Narodniks was significantly different from the generally accepted religious world view. It was an instrument for the influence of oppositional intellectual elite on the peasantry with the aim of eliminating the political passivity of the broad masses of people in the Russian Empire. However, overcoming the political passivity of the population in such a multinational and multi-confessional country as the Russian Empire put the issue of nationalities and a number of other acute problems on the agenda. As a result, the Belorussian narodniks movement, although it was “leftist” by other beliefs, placed great emphasis on the “right” idea of political independence of the Belarusian nation.

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