Fishman Leonid
The article focuses on the role of catastrophes, trauma and victims in the formation of national identity. Their importance in European and Russian culture cannot be exaggerated: the birth of a nation, like the birth of an individual, is almost always a trauma. In other words, a catastrophe accompanied by sacrifice, martyrdom, and suffering plays a huge role in the formation of new communities or the transformation of existing ones. However, the role of a victim as a subject suffering, offended, and oppressed has always been balanced by the role of a subject struggling, casting off fetters, and making heroic sacrifices for the sake of future triumph. According to the author, in the era of European post-nationalism, the role of victims is still exceptional, although the emphasis is often placed on the undergoing rather than the heroic aspect of sacrifice. The situation of catastrophe, which offers a chance to revise and renew national identity (or its counterpart), is often associated with war. The national community gains the opportunity to adjust the existing identity to a more contemporary one. Giving clear meaning to the sacrifices, sufferings, and exploits is a key to the renewal of identity, since they do not automatically entail either the support of an existing identity or the formation of a new one. The cases of Germany and Russia as countries that have experienced or are experiencing recurring catastrophes show what problems and ambiguities arise along the way. In Russia, the collapse of the USSR has not yet been fully understood as a catastrophe requiring an identity adjustment. Russian memory politics has so far sought to mask the fractures in domestic history of the 20th and 21st centuries by asserting “continuity” between its periods. The author believes that the current historical situation offers our country a second chance to form a more “appropriate” national identity based on the realities of today.
Keywords: national identity, catastrophe, victim, Russia, Germany
Belkovich Rodion
, Bystrov Andrey
, Vinogradov Sergey
The article attempts to interpret the little-known anti-statist conception of the early 20th century – anarcho-humanism of Alexey A. Borovoy. The introduction of the research paper justifies the relevance of studying “secondary” figures in the anarchist tradition, both for a better understanding of Anarchism itself in a broader context of intellectual history, and for the advancement of contemporary political theory. The first part of the article outlines the issues raised in Russian academic literature regarding anarcho-humanism, provides a brief historical overview of its evolution, identifies the main stages in the formation of Borovoy’s views, and delineates the influence on him of key ideological currents and authors (Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, Mikhail Bakunin, Henri Bergson, etc.). The main body of the study is devoted to a detailed analysis of the philosophical foundations of Borovoy’s social and political doctrine. It examines the conceptual grounds of anarcho-humanism, reconstructs the crucial philosophical principles, and elucidates the political and legal perspectives of the theorist. The authors argue that the core philosophical features of Borovoy’s anarcho-humanism include dynamism (apology for the perpetual movement of life), anti-rationalism (rejection of rigid intellectual frameworks), and individualism (apology for personal emancipation and development). The central problem shaping the development of Borovoy’s theory is interpreted as the antinomy between the individual and society, an irreconcilable antagonism between the two poles of human existence. It is emphasized that for Borovoy, an individual holds primacy in this conflict, and is engaged in an eternal struggle for emancipation, yet unable to achieve complete liberation from society and collective interests. The authors reveal Borovoy’s critique of determinism and mechanistic reductionism as a characteristic trait of his thought. The research outcome is a detailed conceptualization of the philosophical foundations of anarcho-humanism, providing insight into the political and legal views of one of the most ingenious libertarian theorists of the early 20th century.
Keywords: Alexey A. Borovoy, anarchism, anarcho-humanism, freedom, individualism, dialectics, anti-rationalism, dynamism, individual