Burden of Responsibility

Alternatives to the Ideological Transformation of Populism in the 1880s

Abstract

The article deals with the question of the directions of the ideological transformation of populism during its acute crisis in the 1880s. The author proceeds from the fact that the Narodniks realized the hypertrophied nature of their attitude towards the idea of personal responsibility. Breaking the impasse required radical conclusions. The study is based on journalism and correspondence of populists. The author came to the conclusion that reflection caused a number of diverse consequences. G.I. Uspensky completely revised the basic populist idea of the relationship between the people and an educated society. The new concept of “real intelligentsia”, formulated within the framework of the theory of “small deeds”, transferred the object of responsibility from the people to itself. In the future, the ground was created for broad nationwide social activity. The fundamental rejection of personal responsibility (N.M. Minsky) created the ideological conditions for the development of new art during the Silver Age. In the political sphere, it became possible to synthesize the socialist principle of justice and the liberal principle of personal rights (D.I. Shakhovsky). The formation of the ideology of the Cadet Party (constitutionalism, social liberalism) began. The object of responsibility instead of the people could be not only the individual, but also the class (perceived as the best part of the people) or the state (as an expression of the unity of the people). The author of the article comes to the conclusion that in this way the evolution of such Narodniks as G.V. Plekhanov and L.A. Tikhomirov took place. According to the researcher, during the reassessment of populist values in the 1880s. a number of significant phenomena of the cultural and political life of Russia in the early twentieth century were born.