Ministry of darkness : how Sergei Uvarov created conservative modern Russia / Lesley Chamberlain.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chamberlain, Lesley, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Uvarov, Sergeĭ Semenovich, graf, 1786-1855.

Uvarov, Sergeĭ Semenovich.

Educators--Russia.

Educators.

Statesmen--Russia.

Statesmen.

Russia--Intellectual life--1801-1917.

Russia.

Intellectual life.

Russia--Social conditions--1801-1917.

Social conditions.

Physical Description:

viii, 317 pages : portrait ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Bloomsbury Academic, 2020.

Summary:

"There is nothing new about the Russian conservatism Putin stands for, acclaimed writer Lesley Chamberlain argues. Rather, as Ministry of Darkness reveals, the roots of Russian conservatism can be traced back to the 19th century when Count Uvarov's notorious cry of 'Orthodoxy, Autocracy, Nationality!' rang through the streets of Russia. Sergei Uvarov was no straightforward conservative; indeed, this man was at once both the pioneering educational reformer who founded the Arzamas Writers' Club to which Pushkin belonged, and the Minister who tyrannised and censored Russia's literary scene. How, then, do we reconcile such extreme contradictions in one person? Through Chamberlain's intimate examination of Uvarov's life and skilled analysis of Russian conservatism, readers learn how the many paradoxes that dominated Uvarov's personal and political life are those which, writ large, have forged the identity of conservative modern Russia and its relationship with the West. This fascinating book sheds new light on an often overlooked historical actor and offers a timely assessment of the 19th-century 'Russian predicament'. In doing so, Chamberlain teases out the reasons why the country continues to baffle Western observers and policymakers, making this essential reading both students of Russian history and those who want to further understand Russia as it is today."--Bloomsbury Publishing.

Contents:

1 A childhood close to power p. 11

2 The charm of life abroad p. 21

3 Marriage and a Russian career p. 33

4 Emancipation or isolation? p. 41

5 To believe in something different is an effort, a fantasy p. 53

6 The republic of letters p. 63

7 A good sacred task p. 77

8 'Sire, Resist the Friends of Darkness!' p. 89

9 Retreat into scholarship p. 101

10 A doffed cap to the Tsar p. 113

11 Orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality p. 125

12 'Knowing that he is only feigning Russomania...' p. 137

13 'The Minister of Darkness and the Extinction of Enlightenment' p. 147

14 A life for the Tsar p. 159

15 Politics devours everything p. 177

16 A Russia within Russia p. 189

17 To eliminate the conflict p. 201

18 Decline and fall p. 215

19 From the house of the dead p. 233

20 Afterword: The struggle for a modern Russia p. 245.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [298]-311) and index.

ISBN:

1350116696

9781350116696

9781350116689

1350116688

OCLC:

1084323059