The Slavophiles
This chapter discusses the Slavophiles. They were a small group of mostly Moscow-based intellectuals who came together in the mid-1840s after a split with the so-called “Westernizers.” The Slavophiles were loyal to the autocratic regime, but their views on the nature of the nation and the state, as well as on specific issues such as free speech, departed from the official line. As a result, the government viewed them with definite suspicion. In general the Slavophiles found it difficult to make their opinions heard. It was only after the death of Nicholas I that they were finally given permission to publish a journal of their own. Despite the restrictions on spreading their views, they were to have a profound impact on the future of Russian conservatism.