S. S. Uvarov And The Theory Of Official Nationality

Count Serge Uvarov (1786-1855) is best known for reducing the official ideology of the Imperial state under Nicholas I to the terse formula “Orthodoxy, Autocracy and Nationality.”  President of the Russian Academy of Sciences from 1818 until his death, and Minister of National Education from 1833-1849, Uvarov was well placed bureaucratically to further the cause of reaction and made it the main object of his (quite successful) career.  The odd thing about Uvarov is that he himself does not seem to have subscribed to the values he so publicly espoused, a character trait that perplexed and annoyed many of his contemporaries.  S. Solov’ev in particular denounced him for advocating Orthodoxy despite personal atheism, for promoting autocracy despite liberal convictions, and for proposing the Imperial institutionalization of Russian nationalism while favoring French and German literature over domestic.  The text below lays out the cardinal principles of Uvarov's public position on the fundamental nature of the Empire.

1.  Why does Uvarov think it is necessary to strengthen the foundation of the Imperial state?

2.  On what basis (or bases) does Uvarov propose to do this?

3.  What does he mean when he suggests that the superficial aspects of government may change over time, but that its physiognomy should not?

4.  How might Uvarov have reconciled his personal feelings with his official position?  What does the apparent discrepancy between the two suggest about the man?

Amid the rapid decline of religious and civilian institutions in Europe and the universal dissemination of destructive concepts, and in view of the sad occurrences surrounding us on every side, it became necessary to strengthen the fatherland on the firm foundations which are the basis of the prosperity, strength, and life of the people.   It has become necessary to discover the principles that are the distinguishing marks of Russian character and that belong to it exclusively.  It has become necessary to assemble the sacred remnants of its nationality into one whole, and on it to anchor our salvation.  Fortunately, Russia has preserved a warm faith in the salutary principles without which she cannot prosper, become strong, or live.  Sincerely and profoundly attached to the church of his fathers, the Russian from time immemorial has regarded it as the guarantee of social and family happiness.

Without love for the faith of their ancestors, peoples as well as individuals must perish.  The Russian, devoted to the fatherland, is no more likely to consent to the loss of one of the dogmas of our Orthodoxy than to the theft of even one pearl from the Crown of Monomakh.

Autocracy constitutes the condition of Russia's political existence.  The Russian colossus rests upon it as upon the cornerstone of its greatness. This truth is felt by the overwhelming majority of Your Majesty's subjects. They feel it in full measure, although they come from various walks of life and differ in education, as well as in their relations to the government.

The salutary conviction that Russia lives and is preserved by the spirit of a strong, humane, and enlightened autocracy must permeate the people's education and develop with it.

Along with these two national principles, there is a third, no less important, no less powerful -- that of nationality.  The question of nationality lacks the unity of the former two.  However all of them emanate from the same source and are interwoven with every page of the history of Russian Tsardom.  As regards nationality, the only difficulty consists in bringing ancient and new concepts into harmony.   Nationality does not compel us to retrogress or to stand still.  It does not demand immobility in ideas.  Governmental structure, like the human body, changes its outward aspect in proportion to its age.   Its features change with the passing years, but its physiognomy must not change.

Translation, revised (syntax clarification, repunctuation) by Jon Bone.