On June 20-21, the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences hosted the international conference “Alexander Herzen and the Historical Fates of Russia,” devoted to the 200th anniversary of the birth of this great Russian thinker and writer. The conference was held at the institute’s historic building on Volkhonka Street with support of the Russkiy Mir Foundation, Russian Humanities Research Fund and the Russian Liberal Heritage Foundation.
The Institute of Philosophy brought together the leading researchers of the life and works of Herzen from Russia and Europe to discuss the topicality of his ideas today. At the plenary meetings of the conference a number of foreign guests delivered speeches and presentations: renowned Polish historian Andrzej Walicki, French literary historian Georges Nivat, editor of the Polish Gazeta Wyborcza Adam Michnik, and Professor Korine Amacher of the University of Geneva.
The first day of the conference focused on discussions of various aspects of Herzen’s philosophy. A presentation by Dr. Igor Patin, Chief Research Fellow at the Institute of Philosophy, addressed the role of the thinker in Russia’s political philosophy traditions. Dr. Patin emphasized the ideas of freedom, humanism and justice in Herzen’s treatises, which remain pertinent today.
Andrzej Walicki spoke of Herzen’s philosophy of freedom, sketching two portraits of the thinker: on the one hand, a liberal apologist for political and civil freedom; and, on the other hand, a defender of society, the principles of collectivism, subordination and even diffusion of the individual in society. Another foreign guest, Professor Korine Amacher, devoted her presentation to Herzen’s place in Russian and Soviet historiography, uncovering a mass of interesting sources which help us take another look at the thinker’s works.
Director of the Institute of Philosophy’s Social and Political Philosophy Department Dr. Alexei Kara-Murza in his report “Alexander Ivanovich Herzen in the Prince Golytsyn House on Volkhonka” (the investigation and trial in 1834-1835) told about how Herzen’s history was tied to building hosting the conference. Chairman of the Investigative Committee Prince Golitsyn in 1834-1835 repeatedly interrogated Herzen in this very building and announced the emperor’s decision to exile him to the city of Perm.
Following the plenary meeting in the historical Red Hall, Director of the Institute of Philosophy Abdusalam Guseinov and Andrzej Walicki presided over an opening ceremony of a memorial plaque honoring the 200th anniversary of Herzen’s birth.
Furthermore, on June 20 two roundtables were held, examining aspects of Herzen’s worldview based on his literary and philosophical works and his interaction with outstanding contemporaries: Boris Chicherin, Timofei Granovsky and others. Renowned film director Andrei Konchalovsky took great interest in the conference discussions, noting the important role played by Russian public thinking in the modern life of Russia.
The conference program for June 21 was largely devoted to the European period of Herzen’s life and works. Professor Georges Nivat opened the plenary meeting with a presentation titled “The figure of a great European: the problem of an expanded homeland. Nivat examined the issue of the homeland and its possible betrayal in Herzen’s work through the prism of two dimensions of liberty: liberty from and liberty to, asking the question of at what moment does a person and a people acquire the right to revolt against their homeland, against a tyrant. Nivat emphasized that for Herzen Europe was important as a revolutionary Europe, as a Europe which achieved breakthroughs to freedom. He tied Herzen’s ideas with Solzhenitsyn’s heritage, drawing parallels between My Past and Thoughts and The Red Wheel.
Adam Michnik in his report “Herzen through the Eyes of a Pole” expressed his regrets that today so little attention is paid to Herzen’s heritage in Poland and in Warsaw no street bears his name. This is all the more lamentable, as for Michnik’s generation the Russian language is the language of freedom, and without Herzen’s thoughts there would not have been that generation of intellectuals, the group of dissidents, emigrants who left Russia. Herzen, according to Michnik, can be considered among those who changed the world, and most importantly he was a man who preached tolerance, humanism and dialogue.
The two presentations where followed by an interesting discussion, with Russian experts on Herzen contributing their thoughts: Dr. Vladimir Kantor (Higher School of Economics), Dr. Mikhail Mikhail Maslin (Moscow State University) and Alexander Pavlov, Ph.D, Political Science (Higher School of Economics). The roundtable of the second day addresses the theme of “Herzen and Europe,” as well as the issue of Russian and European revolutionary thinking in Herzen’s works.
Alexandra Yakovleva
