Religious thinkers of Russia Abroad During the Interwar Period: in Search of the “Third way”
Authors:   History of Religion State Museum, Sankt-Petesburg, Russian Federation, Burov A.A. 
Published: February 2025

Introduction. The article describes the intellectual search by Russian religious philosophers, who in the conditions of emigration followed the so-called “vekhovstvo” ideology, a model of society based on Christian ethics, avoiding the disadvantages of both socialism and capitalism: the so-called "third way". Content. The search by Russian emigrant thinkers for an optimal social structure was conducted in the context of solving the problem of settling Russia after the fall of the Bolshevik regime. First of all, these are representatives of Russian religious philosophy during the period of emigration: P. B. Struve, S. L. Frank, S. N. Bulgakov, N. A. Berdyaev and P. I. Novgorodtsev, who united around the journal “Put'”. Their closest followers and successors of the younger generation: G. P. Fedotov, F. A. Stepun, I. I. Fondaminskij and Maria (Skobtsova) gathered around the “Novy Grad” journal. In their religious philosophy, they addressed the topics of politics and social issues. The path of restoration, a return to the pre-revolutionary situation, was rejected by them as unpromising. They criticized socialism for the introduction of forced brotherhood between people and radical denial of personality, and capitalism was unacceptable to them for the suppression and exploitation of the weak by the strong. The right way for Russia is what N. A. Berdyaev called “social personalism” and S. L. Frank called “social Christianity”. Their ideas coincided in the main thing: in affirming the absolute value of the human personality and mutual assistance (solidarity) between people regardless of class. The “social Christianity” concept was known in Europe and had a long tradition of theoretical development and practical implementation (especially in the Catholic Church social teaching and practice). The most adequate embodiment of the “social Christianity” idea was seen in the corporate structure of society. In the 1930s, there were relatively successful attempts to implement this system in practice (Austria, Italy, Portugal). This aroused the most serious interest among Russian emigrant thinkers. They spoke approvingly of the corporate system, which they saw as a real prospect for post-Bolshevik Russia. At the same time, they did not idealize corporatism and were critical of the fascist regimes that practiced it.

Conclusions. In the conditions of the Second World War, the magazines “Put'” and “Novy Grad” cease to exist. The topic of the corporate system is being withdrawn from the wide discussion by Russian emigration thinkers. At the same time, the ideas of “social Christianity” and corporatism were used by Christian Democrats in post-war Germany and Italy and during the creation of the EU. In Russia, the ideas of Russian religious philosophers were taken into account when developing the “Foundations of the Russian Orthodox Church social concept”. However, it is not yet necessary to talk about the full reception of their ideas by the Orthodox community. At the same time, the very experience of understanding and searching for the optimal structure of society on Christian principles, assuming the absolute value of the human personality and overcoming social antagonisms, seems extremely relevant and valuable. Especially when this happens in conditions of free competition between different religious and ideological systems. At the same time, both positive and negative experiences along the way are relevant and valuable.