N.Ya. Danilevsky as a prophet. Part I

The article examines the views of the prominent historiographer Nikolay Yakovlevich Danilevsky, which are particularly topical for modern Russia and carry the character of genuine prophecies coming true before our eyes. They are useful for study — both to affirm correct directions in foreign and domestic policy, and to avoid false political hopes and orientations. Nikolay Danilevsky was the first to make a serious attempt to envision Russia's future; he presented to the public a fundamental historiographical controversy against Chaadaev's notorious "Philosophical Letter". Essentially, these two names mark the chronologically earliest attempts to deeply comprehend Russia's destiny in the present and future, as well as its role and place in the world (if, of course, one does not consider naive eschatology in the spirit of clerical concepts like "Moscow — Third Rome" or equally naive debates between Slavophiles and Westernizers, etc.). The material of the article will be beneficial as additional reading in such courses as "Philosophy," "National History," and "History and Theory of Culture".