The reconstruction of South-Eastern Europe

SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE

hence unnecessary and impossible in Russia. The spirit of Christian resignation and self-sacrifice has achieved there what selfish Western Europe is trying to get by a bitter class-struggle. This shows that Russian society is based upon the principle of self-abasement and Christian love—far higher than the principle of Western individualism."

But the Russian Government looked with a very suspicious eye at the movement and action of these ‘“‘Slavophils.” Their paper was suppressed, and it was only occasionally that they were allowed to publish any books or series of articles. Such a book, Sbornik (miscellany), appeared in 1852, and the Russian Minister of Education, Prince Shirinski-Shakhmatov, in his report to the Emperor, wrote about the said Sbornik: ‘‘ Kireevski does not pay due respect to the immortal merits of the great Reformer of Russia and of his Imperial successors.” And Aksakoy asserts that “‘the old Russia was organised on the principle of democracy, and in general all authors use much vagueness and allusions, which could be wrongly interpreted by readers of lower classes.” Thus, owing to the vagueness of their ideas, to their severance from the general course of European civilisation, and to the suspicion they aroused in governmental circles, they failed to exercise any lasting or profound influence in Russia.

There was an irreconcilable dualism in the

1 Julius F. Hecker, Russian Sociology, New York.

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