Ministry of Darkness: How Sergei Uvarov Created Conservative Modern Russia

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There is nothing new about the Russian conservatism Putin stands for, acclaimed writer Lesley Chamberlain argues. Rather, as Ministry of Darkness reveals, the roots of Russian conservatism can be traced back to the 19th century when Count Uvarov's notorious cry of 'Orthodoxy, Autocracy, Nationality!' rang through the streets of Russia. Sergei Uvarov was no straightforward conservative; indeed, this man was at once both the pioneering educational reformer who founded the Arzamas Writers’ Club to which Pushkin belonged, and the Minister who tyrannised and censored Russia’s literary scene. How, then, do we reconcile such extreme contradictions in one person? Through Chamberlain’s intimate examination of Uvarov’s life and skilled analysis of Russian conservatism, readers learn how the many paradoxes that dominated Uvarov’s personal and political life are those which, writ large, have forged the identity of conservative modern Russia and its relationship with the West. This fascinating book sheds new light on an often overlooked historical actor and offers a timely assessment of the 19th-century ‘Russian predicament’. In doing so, Chamberlain teases out the reasons why the country continues to baffle Western observers and policymakers, making this essential reading both students of Russian history and those who want to further understand Russia as it is today Title Page Copyright Page Contents Figure Abbreviations Archive material Encyclopedias Collected works Introduction: The shock of revolution Chapter 1: A childhood close to power Chapter 2: The charm of life abroad Chapter 3: Marriage and a Russian career chapter 4: Emancipation or isolation? Chapter 5: To believe in something different is an effort, a fantasy … Chapter 6: The republic of letters Chapter 7: A good sacred task Chapter 8: ‘Sire, Resist the Friends of Darkness!’ Chapter 9: Retreat into scholarship Chapter 10: A doffed cap to the Tsar Chapter 11: Orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality Chapter 12: ‘Knowing that he is only feigning Russomania…’ Chapter 13: ‘The Minister of Darkness and the Extinction of Enlightenment’ Chapter 14: A life for the Tsar Chapter 15: Politics devours everything Chapter 16: A Russia within Russia Chapter 17: To eliminate the conflict Chapter 18: Decline and fall Chapter 19: From the house of the dead Chapter 20: Afterword: The struggle for a modern Russia Appendix I: A possible source for Joseph Conrad Notes Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Bibliography A note to the general reader Published works by Sergei Semyonovich Uvarov [Ouvaroff Fr., Uwarow Ger.] Primary sources Secondary sources Index