"The Intelligentsia" and the "Revolution of the Spirit" in Russia at the Turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries: An Alternative to the Historical Church

The article is devoted to the formation of the idea of the "intelligentsia" as the leading spiritual force of Russia at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The author examines the controversy about the "intelligentsia" and its tasks, which intensified in conservative and liberal circles at the turn of the 1870s and 1880s. The origin and evolution of the populist idea of the "intelligentsia" as a secular Christian force are analyzed. The author notes the importance of the works of V.A. Ternavtsev in formulating the problem of the relationship between the "intelligentsia" and the Orthodox Church. The article shows that already at the beginning of the 20th century such a formulation of the question gave rise to a number of ideas about the fate of the "intelligentsia". D.S. Merezhkovsky formulated the task of the world "revolution of the spirit", in which he assigned the central role to the Russian intelligentsia. In the polemic with this view, A.A. Blok, Vyacheslav I.Ivanov, S.N. Bulgakov insisted on the transformation of the worldview and behavior of the "intelligentsia". Bulgakov voiced the idea of a special role for the "intelligentsia" within the Church.