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Zusatztext Lesley Chamberlain's portrait of Sergei Uvarov is a marvel of erudition and elegance. Her study of the 19th-century Tsarist minister of education reveals a complex and compelling figure whose life! which combined great power and even greater impotence! anticipates the tragic predicament of contemporary Russia and those who seek to reform it. Informationen zum Autor Lesley Chamberlain is an independent scholar and novelist who has been writing on Russian themes for over 40 years. She is the author of a number of critically acclaimed books, including Arc of Utopia: The Beautiful Story of the Russian Revolution (2017) , Motherland: A Philosophical History of Russia (2004), and The Philosopher Steamer: Lenin and the Exile of the Intelligentsia (2006).An intimate study of the impact of Count Sergei Uvarov on the political landscape of 19th-century Russia and the founding of Russian conservatism. Zusammenfassung 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. Inhaltsverzeichnis Preface: The Shock of Revolution1. A Childhood Close to Power2. The Charm of Life Abroad3. Marriage and a Russian Career 4. Emancipation or Isolation?5. To Believe in Something Better is an Effort, a Fantasy...6. The Republic of Letters7. A Good Sacred Task8. Sire, Resist the Friends of Darkness!9. Retreat into Scholarship10. A Doffed Cap to the Tsar11. Orthodoxy, Autocracy, Nationality12. Knowing He is only Feigning Russomania13. The Minister of Darkness14. A Life for the Tsar15. Politics Devours Everything16. A Russia within Russia17. To Eliminate the Conflict18. Decline and Fall 19. From the House of the Dead20. Afterword: The Struggle for a Modern RussiaAppendix 1: A Possible Source for Joseph ConradBibliographyIndex...
