Analysis reveals Soloviev's apologia for Nicolas I in a historical context, indicating a complex relationship with nationalism and governance.
The article is devoted to disclosing the reasons of philosopher Soloviev’s unexpected apologia of the emperor Nicolas I. The issue under examination is the unsigned story “In Memory of Nicolas I” that was first published in the “Saint Petersburg Vedomosti” journal in July of 1896 and dedicated to the one hundredth anniversary of the emperor. The complimentary words of the oppositional philosopher addressed to the emperor who was far from popular in liberal circles and the positive assessment of his person seem to contradict the critical statements of the thinker regarding the practice of governing during the reign of Nicolas I. Nevertheless, the philosopher considered and insisted in the publication in question and other works that Nicolas I was guided by the correct understanding of the Christian empire essence and demonstrated his better human qualities in his attitude to Pushkin. The philosopher gave Nicolas I credit for narrow-minded nationalism disapproval and, on the contrary, blamed Pushkin for not keeping his promise to inform the tsar about Dantes’s new challenge to fight a duel.
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Boris Mezhuev (2025) studied this question.
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