Konstantin Nikolaevich Leont'ev
Konstantin Nikolaevich Leont'ev (1831-1891) was a Russian writer, philosopher, and diplomat known for his complex views on morality, aesthetics, and the role of Russia in history. Born into a landed gentry family in Kaluga province, he experienced a tumultuous childhood marked by a strong affection for his mother and a fraught relationship with his father. After a stint in military school and later medical education, he served as a surgeon during the Crimean War and later entered diplomatic service in Greece.
Leont'ev's literary contributions include novels such as "Podlipki" and "V svoem kraiu," which showcase his psychological insight and moral explorations, often drawing from his own controversial life experiences. He became increasingly involved in Orthodox Christianity after a transformative experience at Mount Athos, leading him to advocate for the idea that Russia was to inherit the legacy of Byzantium. His later works reflect his philosophical beliefs, emphasizing a connection between Byzantinism and Russian identity.
In the final years of his life, he faced financial difficulties and spent much time in monasteries, ultimately taking monastic vows before passing away at the Trinity Monastery near Moscow. Leont'ev's life and writings continue to provoke discussion regarding morality, culture, and Russia's historical destiny.
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Konstantin Nikolaevich Leont'ev
Philosopher
- Born: January 13, 1831
- Birthplace: Kudinovo, Kaluga, Russia
- Died: November 12, 1891
- Place of death: Trinity Monastery, near Moscow, Russia
Biography
Konstantin Nikolaevich Leont’ev was born on January 13, 1831, at Kudinovo, an estate in Kaluga province, Russia, to a family of landed gentry. He adored his mother and hated his father. He received primary education at home, and entered a military school in 1843, but soon left because of poor health. Upon gradation from high school, he graduated from medical school at the University of Moscow. At university, Leont’ev suffered from many psychosomatic illnesses. He had a love affair with a girl and also with a male fellow student. He ended the latter after meeting Ivan Turgenev and accepting him as a mentor, who helped him in many ways.
Leont’ev published his first work in 1854. He joined the army and served as a surgeon during the Crimean War. After the war, he had a love affair with a young daughter of a wealthy Greek merchant; they broke up, but he married her six years later. He also began to write unsuccessful novels, drawing from his own morally questionable experiences, such as beating up a French consul. His best novels from this period are Podlipki (under the linden trees, 1861) and V svoem kraiu (at home, 1864), which show fine psychological analyses.
In 1863, Leont’ev entered diplomatic service, serving as a consul in Greece for eight years. After leaving the diplomatic service, he returned to Russia hoping to make a living by practicing medicine and by writing. In his books, he presented his views on aesthetic immoralism, as in Ispoved’ muzha (a husband’s confession), where a husband encourages his wife to lead an immoral life so that she can experience full passion.
In 1871, Leont’ev suffered one many illnesses and vowed to spend a year at the Mount Athos monastery as a monk under the strict monastic rules if he recovered, which he did. After that, he became fanatic about the Orthodox Christianity. In many works, as in the essay Vizantinizm i slavianstvo (Byzantinism and Slavdom, 1871-1872), he espoused his views on philosophy and history, advocating, among other things, that Byzantium was far superior to the putrefying West and that Russia was destined to become heir to Byzantium. His political essays, collected in Vostok, Rossiia, i slavianstvo (the East, Russia, and the Slavs, 1885-1886), talk mainly about the philosophical and historical aspects of the role of Russia in the past and in the future. They often reveal the influence of Nikolai Danilevski.
In the last years of his life, Leont’ev published his memoirs, which threw light on his dynamic and often controversial life. He had difficulties making ends meet, spending more time in Russian monasteries. He finally took monastic vows shortly before his death and settled in the famous Trinity Monastery near Moscow, where he died in 1891.