About Us
In Russia, Ivan Ilyin has come to be regarded as a “great Russian philosopher.” The complete collection of his works already numbers more than 30 volumes, however an objective political biography has yet to be written – there are only biographic stories penned by fans and followers.
With the 70th anniversary of his death upon us, we have undertaken to fill the significant gap in the scholarship and offer readers a sober, analytical look at the figure of Ilyin, his works and legacy.
On this site we will also post popular resources that help to understand the essence of Ilyin as a thinker and the role assigned to him in Russia today.
In Russia, Ivan Ilyin has come to be regarded as a “great Russian philosopher.” The complete collection of his works already numbers more than 30 volumes, however an objective political biography has yet to be written – there are only biographic stories penned by fans and followers.
With the 70th anniversary of his death upon us, we have undertaken to fill the significant gap in the scholarship and offer readers a sober, analytical look at the figure of Ilyin, his works and legacy.
On this site we will also post popular resources that help to understand the essence of Ilyin as a thinker and the role assigned to him in Russia today.
Read about Ivan Ilyin
Who is Ivan Ilyin really? How did he – just one of a number of Russian emigre thinkers, reactionary even for his time – acquire such exceptional significance for the Russian state in the 21st century? How does Ilyin fit into the Kremlin’s ideological framework and who made his rise possible?
The opening chapter of the book, a political biography of Ilyin, is the first of its kind, based on the main archive of the philosopher’s works at Moscow State University, as well as the archives of the police and security agencies of Switzerland and Germany. When the scattered information about Ilyin’s political activities over the decades is combined, a new picture emerges – indeed, not that of a “religious philosopher” who ran from the Nazis, but one of a major figure in the militant wing of the White emigration, who in his later years was deeply mired in anti-Soviet conspiracies and, ultimately, became an ideologist of White fascism. His radicalism did not wane even after the defeat of Nazism, and he became a symbol of the anti-Soviet resistance during the Cold War.
The second chapter is devoted to Ilyin’s ideas about power and violence in his most famous work, On Resistance to Evil by Force (1925). As it turns out, they amount to nothing more than a thinly veiled exposition of the just war theory of the Catholic theologian St Augustine (354-430 AD), subsequently used to justify the Crusades. Thus, Ilyin’s philosophy in On Resistance to Evil by Force is neither Russian nor Orthodox. However, Ilyin goes further than St Augustine: by demonizing – often in the literal sense of the word – the Bolsheviks, he seeks not only to justify and authorize, but also to sacralize violence and enforce its use.
The third chapter examines the ideological return of Ilyin to Russia. At the beginning of Vladimir Putin’s presidency, the figure of Ilyin was deemed suitable material with which to establish the system’s anti-communist credentials and lend ideological substance to the state. Later, as the conservative trends strengthened in the 2010s, Ilyin’s legacy was used more and more actively. Judging by the timid reservations expressed by Ilyin’s fans about the “controversial nature” of his pro-fascist positions, they seem well aware of them and do not consider them a problem. Indeed, in certain, narrow, circles these positions serve as markers.
In any case, even if the Ilyin quotes tossed around publicly could have come from basically any other Russian philosopher, it is still Ivan Ilyin, with all his “controversy,” who has been elevated by the Kremlin as a “great Russian philosopher.”
The opening chapter of the book, a political biography of Ilyin, is the first of its kind, based on the main archive of the philosopher’s works at Moscow State University, as well as the archives of the police and security agencies of Switzerland and Germany. When the scattered information about Ilyin’s political activities over the decades is combined, a new picture emerges – indeed, not that of a “religious philosopher” who ran from the Nazis, but one of a major figure in the militant wing of the White emigration, who in his later years was deeply mired in anti-Soviet conspiracies and, ultimately, became an ideologist of White fascism. His radicalism did not wane even after the defeat of Nazism, and he became a symbol of the anti-Soviet resistance during the Cold War.
The second chapter is devoted to Ilyin’s ideas about power and violence in his most famous work, On Resistance to Evil by Force (1925). As it turns out, they amount to nothing more than a thinly veiled exposition of the just war theory of the Catholic theologian St Augustine (354-430 AD), subsequently used to justify the Crusades. Thus, Ilyin’s philosophy in On Resistance to Evil by Force is neither Russian nor Orthodox. However, Ilyin goes further than St Augustine: by demonizing – often in the literal sense of the word – the Bolsheviks, he seeks not only to justify and authorize, but also to sacralize violence and enforce its use.
The third chapter examines the ideological return of Ilyin to Russia. At the beginning of Vladimir Putin’s presidency, the figure of Ilyin was deemed suitable material with which to establish the system’s anti-communist credentials and lend ideological substance to the state. Later, as the conservative trends strengthened in the 2010s, Ilyin’s legacy was used more and more actively. Judging by the timid reservations expressed by Ilyin’s fans about the “controversial nature” of his pro-fascist positions, they seem well aware of them and do not consider them a problem. Indeed, in certain, narrow, circles these positions serve as markers.
In any case, even if the Ilyin quotes tossed around publicly could have come from basically any other Russian philosopher, it is still Ivan Ilyin, with all his “controversy,” who has been elevated by the Kremlin as a “great Russian philosopher.”
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