Slavophilic Motifs in the Philosophy, Literature, and Art of Western and Southern SlavsWhen we pronounce the word "Slavophilism," familiar names come to mind — Khomyakov, Kireevsky, Aksakov. We are accustomed to considering this phenomenon exclusively Russian, a product of the Moscow salons of the 1840s. But Slavophilism — or, more broadly, the Slavic idea — was a much more extensive phenomenon. It encompassed the entire Europe, from Prague to Belgrade, from Warsaw to Sofia. Western and southern Slavs living under the rule of the Austrian and Ottoman empires sought in the Slavic idea not just cultural self-affirmation, but a way to survive, preserve language, faith, and national dignity. Their philosophy, literature, and art were permeated by motifs that we today call Slavophilic, but which sounded differently in each country, with an indelible national accent.Slavophilism as a Pan-European PhenomenonSlavophilism was not an invention of Russian thinkers. Its roots go back to the Enlightenment and Romanticism, when throughout Europe there was a growing interest in national roots, folk poetry, and ancient history. The German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder, one of the first theorists of the national spirit, saw the Slavs as a special people endowed with pacifism, musicality, and profound spirituality. These ideas were picked up by Czech, Slovak, Polish, Serbian, and Croatian intellectuals who sought a counterweight to German and Turkish pressure in the Slavic community.In the 19th century, the self-assertion of Slavic Europe took place. The Slavic idea became an important instrument of national revival for peoples who had lost statehood or were under foreign rule. However, it is important to understand: Slavophilism among western and southern Slavs was not a copy of Russian. It had its own peculiarities, accents, and dramas. Poles, for example, were never Russianophiles in the same sense as, say, Czechs or Bulgarians. Their Slavophilism was deeply imbued with Cath ... Read more