235 years ago, September 5, 1786, in the family of one of the many warrant officers Grigory Potemkin , whom the Most Serene Prince called Senka the bandura player for his cheerful disposition and musical abilities, a son was born … This boy, having matured and made an incredible career, will go down in Great History as a person who has achieved a unprecedented. In the opinion of many, he managed to put in three words nothing less than the Russian national idea. These are the words: Orthodoxy. Autocracy. Nationality. & # 39; & # 39;
Yes, it is. Here is Count Uvarov, Sergei Semionovich … a strange and mysterious person that his contemporaries could not understand first, then many historians. Indeed & mdash; before becoming Minister of Education Sergei Semionovich was, as they say, a notorious liberal. It was on his initiative that the famous Arzamas society was created, which brings together the most free thinkers: the future Decembrists and the very young Alexander Pushkin … It was thanks to his works that the University of St. Petersburg was established in 1819. Contemporaries spoke of Uvarov's contribution to his foundation at the highest degree: ” He cared about St. Petersburg University as a kind father, and his merits are similar to Lomonosov at Moscow University. In 1821, Uvarov, as administrator of the educational district of St. Petersburg, was so enraged by the defeat that his colleague, the administrator of the Kazan educational district Mikhail Magnitsky , arranged at the local university that he tendered his resignation. & nbsp;
And suddenly, from 1833, exactly from the moment Uvarov took the post of head of the Ministry of Public Education of the Russian Empire, a sharp turn, discouraging all contemporaries, turned. ; is produced in its behavior.
Alexander Pushkin was the first to feel it. In 1831, Uvarov translated his poems to the slanderers of Russia. and 'Borodino's birthday' in French, so much so that the poet wrote to the translator: 'It remains from the bottom of my heart to thank you for the attention you have shown me, and for the strength and the wholeness of the thoughts you have generously entrusted to me. & # 39; & # 39; And in 1833, the same Uvarov suddenly attacked Pushkin's poem “ Angelo & # 39; & # 39; and through the censorship committee he's pushing for the exclusion of a whole slew of worms. Next comes the turn of Pushkin's work, which he considered almost the essential of his life: “ The Story of the Pugachev Revolt. '' ; Pushkin became indignant: “ The public scolds my Pugachev , and what is even worse & mdash; do not buy. Uvarov & mdash; great villain. It screams my book like an outrageous play. His Dundukov slander, a fool and a bard (homosexual – editor's note), persecutes me with his censorship committee. He does not accept that I publish my works with the sole consent of the Sovereign. The king loves, but not the hunter. By the way, about Uvarov: he's a big bad and a charlatan & hellip; & raquo; & nbsp;
Portrait of Sergei Uvarov by YK Kanevsky 1844 Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
And the essential. It was in 1833, when he took office as minister, that Uvarov made this formula widely known. Orthodoxy. Autocracy. Nationality.
What happened? Why does a remarkable liberal suddenly become a remarkable guardian of state?
It would be very tempting to use the famous quote, which is attributed to either Winston Churchill or Otto von Bismarck:. “Take advantage and calm down: here is, they say, a classic example, Count Uvarov. And what a conservative he has become, it is dear to see: he so clearly defined the obligations of” Most important state and the national idea!
The trick, however, is that the national idea of this Uvarov phrase was made retroactively. In fact, Sergei Semionovich spoke about his particular case. Here is an exact quote: “ National education must be conducted in the united spirit of Orthodoxy, Autocracy and Nationality. '' It appeared in a note to Emperor Nicholas I, “ On some principles that could serve as a guide in the management of the Ministry of Public Education. & # 39; & # 39; That is, it is a condensed doctrine of public education, nothing more. But why it appeared and what it was used for, it is worth mentioning in particular. & Nbsp;
Nicholas I, not trusting the aristocrats who, at the very beginning of his reign, organized the famous festivities in Senate Square, relied on officials and bureaucrats. In principle, the train of thought is correct. It was more difficult with the other. He needed a good management device, because with a bad one you can make any management fail. A good manager in a fast paced life must be an educated person. Desirable & mdash; very well educated.
But there is a caveat. The better and better the education, the more truly educated people are, the more dangerous the situation is for the authorities. For the simple reason that they are all thinking people. And very often they think critically. Including on the condition, on its structure and on its order, which I really want to replace with others, more just … In short, it's understandable. The Great French Revolution dates back to the work of the encyclopedists, everyone knows that.
Nicholas I knew this too, who found himself in dire straits. Educated people are really needed. But they are dangerous. What to do ?
Twenty years before becoming Minister of Public Education, Uvarov elegantly framed the problem Nicholas I was facing: “ They want a safe education, that is, a fire that does not would not burn. & # 39; & # 39; & Nbsp;
The highest rise in the career of Count Ouvarov came when he decided on a desperate bluff, namely to demonstrate to the ruler that his loyal official had finally found a “fire that would not burn”: the Enlightenment only what is necessary for the existence of a great state, and resolutely reject whatever carries within it the seeds of disorder and upheaval? Just observe the following three maxims, inspired by the very nature of things. national religion. Autocracy. Nationality.
The meaning is clear. If public education is well imbued with the spirit of this formula, then everything will be not only good, but excellent. Well-educated people will appear among the people, but at the same time absolutely loyal to orthodoxy and autocracy.
It was exactly that bluff. Uvarov understood that there is no such fire in nature that does not burn, and that sooner or later everything will surely ignite. He calmly pursued his cherished goal. The dream of his life was to create an education system in Russia that would bring the country to the same level as Western Europe, and if it works, even to a higher level. The stakes were very high. And the bluff succeeded. The ruler, as they say, bought it. Uvarov's formula was too good, and the graph itself – & mdash; loyal and devoted to orthodoxy and autocracy & hellip;
In any case, in words. The reality was slightly different. The third department reported to Nikolai: “No minister acts as autocratic as Uvarov. The sovereign's name is constantly on his lips, and meanwhile, with his ministerial instructions, he weakens the strength of many laws approved by the highest authority. The censorship charter has been completely modified by the & hellip; & raquo;
Uvarov & # 39; s bet was a success. Its ideological formula brilliantly acted as a kind of smokescreen. This is how historian Andrey Lewandovsky said about it: “ Uvarov brought Russian enlightenment to a new level, in total contradiction to the postulates of this ideology. It was with him, at least, the stages of this education & mdash; gymnasiums, universities & mdash; reach the European level and Moscow University is perhaps emerging as one of the leading such institutions in Europe. & # 39; & # 39; & nbsp;
But what about Pushkin's persecution and other obscurantisms that Minister Uvarov has shown on the right and on the left? In private conversations, Sergei Semionovich admitted: “ During the management of the ministry, I was in the position of a man who, fleeing from a wild beast, throws all parts of his clothes at him. One after another in order to take care of something, and I'm glad I was myself, at least kept intact. ' One of those 'clothes' and had a good relationship with Alexander Sergeevich. In this case, the target was high and certainly justified the means.