The Easternism of E.E. Ukhtomskii. Geopolitical concept formation

Abstract

The author of the article makes an attempt to elicit reasons for the Easternism formation in the ideas of famous Russian intellectual Esper Esperovich Ukhtomskii at the turn of 19th – 20th centuries.

on the basis of some published and archival materials the article demonstrates in what way Ukhtomskii s ideas might be included into the context of modern time. He also elicits different aspects that could influence the philosopher’s work.

The specific feature of the research is not so much to represent the concept of Ukhtomskii that concerns political and cultural necessity of the Russia’s turn to the Far East but rather to demonstrate different aspects of political, social, psychological, cultural and other properties which prompted the creation of the Easternism. The article does not represent the concept itself but the intellectual sphere that includes this idea, referring to some aspects of intellectual history that was spread in Russian and foreign historiography in recent years.

The author concludes arguing that the idea of the Easternism was formulated by Esper Esperovich Ukhtomskii under the influence of personal factors and common intellectual tradition at the turn of 19th – 20th centuries.