The censored 6th article by Ivan Aksakov from the series «On the mutual relationship between people, society and state»

Abstract

Two previously censored versions of the sixth article from I.S. Aksakov’s series “On the mutual relation of the people, society and the state” are published for the first time. They were devoted to the history of zemstvo, its relationship with the state in the era from Ivan IV to Peter I. The series was published in the 1862 in the journal “The Day” that he edited and published. However, publication was interrupted for censorship reasons, which we explain in an introductory article. The unpublished article which is part of a series, is of considerable interest for understanding the ideas of Aksakov. In 1861–1862 Aksakov, together with Yury Samarin, modified Konstantin Aksakov’s “Territory” and “State” doctrine (created at the end of the 1840–1850s). I. Aksakov and Y. Samarin emphasized subjectivity, formulating the doctrine of “society”, “people” and “state” where the “people” and “state” are considered similarly to the doctrine of Konstantin Aksakov. People “in close and more strict sense” are understood as “the common people, that is a lot of the people that live life right,” and the state acts as “the external definition given to itself by the people; its activity, i.e. the states, and the area of its activity are purely external”. The essential novelty consists in the introduced concepts of society defined in Hegelian ambiance as “the people on the second stage of its development, the people self-conscious”.