The ideas preached by Ivan Ilyin, the philosopher by the grace of God, are now experiencing a renaissance. The very first statesmen began to quote him and lay flowers on his grave. This is all the more strange, because the Russian philosopher Ivan Ilyin was usually ranked among the theories of National Socialism and neo-fascism. What is really going on?
Slavophilism
Ivan Ilyin is a primordially Russian philosopher, expelled in 1922 on a "philosophical" ship out of Russia as absolutely unacceptable political regime established in his homeland. Slavophilism was not expelled from him either by emigration or painful nostalgia - he loved Russia with all his heart. The revolution has always been perceived as a disease of the country, which sooner or later will pass, and then a revival will come. Ivan Ilyin, a Russian philosopher, thought about Russia constantly, all his life he waited for the hour of her recovery and in his own way tried to bring it closer.
Philosophical statements are equal to creativity: this is not an external skill, but the inner life of the soul. And philosophy itselfalways means more than life, because life ends with it. However, life is the subject of philosophy and its source, so it is more important. Good, correct questions are no less an art than correct answers. Ivan Ilyin, a philosopher and Slavophile, was engaged in the search and formulation of these main questions all his life.
Nationalism
Reading books, especially poetry, Ivan Alexandrovich considered equal to clairvoyance in its artistic incarnation, and, judging by the circle of reading, he could tell a lot about a completely unfamiliar person. The philosopher compared the reader to a bouquet of flowers collected while reading, and believed that a person must certainly become exactly what he subtracted from books.
To preserve one's own "Russianness", that is, nationality in the truest sense of the word, is almost impossible, according to Ilyin, if one does not fall in love with the poems of Russian poets, who are both national prophets and national musicians. A Russian who is in love with poetry will not be able to denationalize, even if circumstances require it.
Anti-Communism
Ivan Ilyin is a philosopher of Christian morality. He considered socialism asocial, and spoke of communism with irreconcilable malice: socialism is terrorist, totalitarian and envious, and communism emerges from it shamelessly, openly, and ferociously. However, he could not help but know that the Russian intelligentsia has always gravitated (and still gravitates) towards socialism very strongly, it is close to it, just as close are the ideas of the Paris Commune (freedom, equality, fraternitysocialism, and not terrorism at all), and the intelligentsia never wanted a single system stronger than socialism.
Ilyin answers such questions as a classical theorist who studied religion and culture: the intelligentsia is under the influence of the rational "Western" enlightenment, it has almost completely lost the Christian faith inherent in the Russian people, but holds on to Christian morality with both hands. It is her rules that are prescribed for the social system, but it is not a fact that they can be preserved in the foundations of real life under socialism.
Fascism
Ilyin's views on fascism truly baffle not only colleagues in the shop, but also ordinary sensible people. He was expelled from Russia, lived in Germany, at the origins of National Socialism, taught at an institute, albeit a Russian one, but a member of the general Aubert League - an anti-communist organization that opposed any diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, frightened with red terror and contributed to the activities of all anti-communist forces. Moreover, everywhere there is information that the philosopher Ilyin Ivan Alexandrovich made many efforts to create this odious organization, being one of its founders. By the way, she lasted until 1950 - she turned out to be such a tenacious one.
The Aubert League included all the fascist organizations that existed at that time, even the NSDAP and Mussolini's party. Ilyin considered fascism to be a fairly he althy, useful and even necessary movement, since it arose as a result of a reaction to Bolshevism as a right-wing movement.state security force. The statement of the Russian philosopher Ilyin about the usefulness of fascism cannot but give rise to negative emotions in any person who has been Soviet for at least some time. Noble fury boils up, and Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya is before my eyes.
Neomonarchism
Ilyin the philosopher wrote a lot about Russia, especially lamenting that the Russian people had forgotten how to have a tsar. In his opinion, Russia can live only under autocracy, in any other case, chaos ensues. He considered his homeland not adapted to the republican system. The revolution for Russia, according to Ilyin, is a mortal danger, the philosopher sees in it only dishonor. He is full of intentions to fight to the end and, in principle, by any means, judging by his cooperation with fascist organizations. He did not want to adapt to the change in the system and despised those who returned to Russia.
Already in the thirties, in lectures at the institute, Ilyin predicted with great joy the war between Germany and the Soviet Union. His position was determined clearly and forever. Earlier, comparing Russia with a sick mother, he asked the reader: is it possible to leave her bed with the certainty that she herself is guilty of her illness? And he answers: of course, it is possible to leave. But for medicines and for a doctor. Ilyin made his choice. The "sick mother" defeated the White Guard doctors quickly, while the philosophers were sitting at her head. And although Hitler turned out to be a killer doctor, he was also defeated.
Imperialism
Russia I. A. Ilyin, the Russian philosopher, considered as a whole, and in this he was absolutely right. This country cannot be dismembered unmistakably and painlessly for the rest of the world. In the article "What the Dismemberment of Russia Promises the World," he confidently says that it is not a simple heap of vast territories and diverse tribes. Russia is a living organism. To those who lamented about the freedom of nations and political independence, Ilyin replied that the precedent of the coincidence of the state division of peoples and the tribal had never happened anywhere yet. In history, one can observe convincing evidence of this statement: there are many small nations in the world that are not capable of self-determination and state independence.
According to the philosopher, Russia did not engage in forced baptism and general Russification, nevertheless, it perfectly existed for many centuries as a mighty empire. At the same time, Ilyin calls communist internationalism denationalization and communist leveling, without asking himself the question of the reasons for the appearance of the revolution in the midst of "beautiful existence." It is also interesting that the world backstage has been dreaming of the dismemberment of Russia, it turns out, for a very, very long time.
National Socialism
But here it didn't work out. Either Ilyin, a philosopher not too accommodating, recoiled from the half-opened mask of fascism (although this is unlikely, judging by his further activities, his views did not change in any way), or German National Socialism, which had in itsthe main program has many points regarding non-Germans, I did not see in Ilyin a sufficiently zealous adherent of fascist views, but in 1938 the Gestapo became closely interested in the Russian philosopher and politician.
In addition to lectures at the Russian Institute about Russian writers, about the foundations of legal consciousness and Russian culture, again, about the future revival of Russia - without the Soviet regime, about religion in general and about the Russian church in particular, Ilyin organized the Wrangel ROVS (Russian General Military Union) from the beginning of the twenties of the last century and was until the end of his ideological inspirer. Ilyin also knew quite well the leaders of the NTS - the People's Labor Union of Russian Solidarists (also the same company!) - and worked quite closely with them, although he did not join any of the parties until the end of his life. Nevertheless, all his activities were completely directed against the Soviet Union.
Supra-partisanship
Philosophy and politics usually do not seem to people close enough and even more so closely related to each other, but for Ilyin they occupied a central place both in creativity and in social activities. With lectures on political topics, he traveled all over Europe: he was in Austria, Yugoslavia, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Switzerland, Latvia, Germany - more than two hundred speeches for ten years until 1938.
Published in all the emigrant press: "Renaissance", "Russian invalid", "New time", "New way", "Russia and the Slavs", "Russia" - all publications and cannot be listed."Russian Bell" he published himself. And always against the Third International. Nevertheless, being active in the political life of pre-fascist and already with might and main Hitler's Europe, Ilyin valued his non-partisanship. Perhaps that is why the Gestapo considered him insufficiently loyal to National Socialism. His publications were arrested, teaching is prohibited, as well as any performance in public places.
Underground
We managed to leave Germany, although the departure of the Ilyin family was forbidden by the Nazi authorities. The source of income was completely blocked due to the ban on any type of activity owned by Ilyin. Switzerland, a rich country that never entered the war, was chosen as a new place of residence. Visas were obtained with the help of friends and acquaintances, and in 1938 the philosopher settled on the outskirts of Zurich, in Zollikon. Ivan Ilyin did not stop publishing his anti-communist works, they just came out without a signature, anonymously.
Two hundred and fifteen publications thus reached the White Guard ROVS alone. Subsequently, the book "Our Tasks" was compiled from these articles, but it was no longer Ilyin who published it. The philosopher, whose books suddenly returned to Russia and are being studied quite closely, did not wait for many publications. His main works, including the popular "Singing Heart", were published in 1956-1958, after his death. At the very end of his life, in 1953, a work was published that he had been writing for more than thirty years - "Axioms of Religious Experience".
Memoryreturns
Recently, the bodies of Ilyin, Shmelev and Denikin were transported to Russia and reburied. All tombstones were installed with the personal money of President V. V. Putin. A grave solemn speech about Denikin was heard for the first time, but the philosopher Ilyin has been quoted by the main people of the country very often lately. Even the President's Addresses to the Federal Assembly contain rather lengthy quotations. References to Ilyin were made by Prosecutor General Ustinov and Deputy Head of the Kremlin Administration Surkov. And, of course, as a fighter for Orthodoxy, Ilyin has great respect for the Russian Orthodox Church.
