Nicolai Berdyaev’s „communist” Irresolutions
Abstract
The issue of Communism, especially the Russian Communism, constitutes one of the most important and persistent problems in the thought of N. Berdyaev who addressed the issue in an almost obsessive manner. In the second half of the 19th century, the ideas of revolution and Communism were becoming increasingly important for virtually all groups of the Russian intelligentsia and were occupying the brightest minds of Russian culture: Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Leontyev, Solovyov and Fedorov. For Berdyaev, the Russian revolution would be an evidence of failure of the mental and spiritual forces of the Russian nation. He had seen it as a possible result of a collapse of the old regime, as well as a indictment of history. The revolution was interpreted by him as a reminder of previous mistakes and failings as well as a cathartic transition from death to a new life. He trusted, though, that Communism, in opposition to the wholly anti-Christian capitalism, will be able to transform itself; he also believed that a complete reconciliation of Communism with Christianity is fully possible. Key words COMUINISM, BERDYAEV.