In the foreground Vida Azimi legge / reads L’Occident vu de Russie. Anthologie de la pensée russe de Karamzine à Poutine. Choix, présentations et traductions de Michel Niqueux

Abstract

Reading and sharing an anthology of 790 pages, including 365 texts and 140 authors, most ever translated in French, and embracing a historical and intellectual panorama, over two centuries, is a true challenge. The building of a national identity can be summarized in a central question of rare complexity: «The West as a model to imitate, to catch up with, to go beyond it, to regenerate or to reject?» On one hand, the West is «a philosophical issue for Russia»; on the other hand, exists for Western people «a mystery of the Russian otherness». All began with Peter the Great (I) and his female double, Catherine II, the philosopher-empress, with the foundation of the new capital of Russia through the «utmost will» of opening a window on Europe. «The bronze horseman», Peter I’s statue raised by Catherine, is the metaphor of Russia as a European power, haunting western’s imagination and questioning Russians themselves. The chronological thread and the historical canvas, divided into nine chapters (II) start during the Enlightenment period with the poet and national historian Karamzine and lead to the present days «conservative revolution» of Vladimir Poutine, after 70 years of communism. Despite economic changes and ideological ruptures, three type of discourses appear through the time: that of westernizer Europeists, the traditional slavophilia and nationalist trends, all thoughts sealed in orthodox belief. The fall of USSR gave hope or illusion of a «common European dwelling», before provoking pessimistic approaches meaning farewell to Europe for some and welcome to Eurasia for others (III).