A Design for Russia

Abstract

Occupying as it does an intermediate position between East and West, Russia from time to time finds it necessary to reexamine its status as a civilized country: it perpetuates itself in history by changing its civilizational orientations—by searching for a new balance between Western and Eastern impulses. Any reform in Russia weakens the screws that "fasten" the country firmly to a specific point on the axis between East and West, thus creating the danger of destabilization. Most countries, both Eastern and Western, are part of more or less stable civilized systems: a cupola over them protects them from the chaos of history. Russia, however, is its own civilizational system, yet a more fragile and mobile one owing to its intermediate position. State power and civilizational fragility—such is the antinomy of Russia's destiny, something our social reformers frequently forget.