1874–1948
○ Died
A Russian thinker who left Marxism to found a Christian existentialist philosophy of freedom
Arrested in 1922, Berdyaev was interrogated at midnight by Cheka chief Felix Dzerzhinsky — and instead of begging, gave him a thorough dressing-down on the problems of Bolshevism. Dzerzhinsky freed him. As Solzhenitsyn wrote: "Now there is a man who had a 'point of view'!"
A Russian religious and political philosopher who moved from Marxism to Christian existentialism and personalism, becoming one of the most influential Russian thinkers of the 20th century. A leading contributor to Vekhi (1909), he critiqued revolutionary radicalism and, after the Bolshevik takeover, founded the Free Academy of Spiritual Culture to sustain independent philosophical work under Soviet rule. Expelled in 1922 on the 'Philosophers' Ship,' he wrote major works in Berlin and Paris — including The Russian Idea and Slavery and Freedom — and was nominated seven times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. His concept of 'uncreated freedom' — a freedom not even God controls — profoundly shaped existentialist political theology and critiques of totalitarianism worldwide.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1897Arrested at student protest, exiled, expelled from Kiev University
- 1901Subjectivism and Individualism in Social Philosophy; turn to idealism
- 1909Co-authored Vekhi (Landmarks), critiquing revolutionary intelligentsia
- 1919–22Founded and chaired the Free Academy of Spiritual Culture
- 1920Professor of philosophy, Moscow University
- 1922Expelled from USSR on 'Philosophers' Ship'; exile in Berlin
- 1925–40Edited Put' journal in Paris; engaged European intellectual circles
- 1946Published The Russian Idea; received Soviet citizenship
The Free Academy and independent philosophical work in Moscow
From early 1918, Berdyaev held weekly Tuesday gatherings for religious and philosophical discussion at his home. Some 20 to 25 people attended, heard papers and debated; the meetings gave rise to the idea of a Free Academy. In 1919 he organized the Free Academy of Spiritual Culture in Moscow and became its chair. Its charter set out to study spiritual culture and thought in science, philosophy, ethics, art, and religion, and provided for lectures, seminars, debates, a library, and publications. The academy relied on small contributions from its audience. Meetings took place in venues including the auditorium of the Higher Courses for Women and the Polytechnic Museum, and included workers, Red Army soldiers, and sailors among their audiences.
Berdyaev taught courses in philosophy of history and religion at the academy and led a seminar on Dostoevsky. From 1920, papers followed by discussions were held every two weeks on subjects including the crises of culture and philosophy and Christian freedom. In spring 1922, he and Semyon Frank organized a faculty of philosophy and humanities, but it did not become fully operational. After an August 1922 decree required non-profit associations to register, the academy applied for re-registration. Government bodies opposed its continued existence; the pending expulsion proceedings against Berdyaev and some other members also figured among the grounds for refusal. Berdyaev was expelled in autumn 1922, and in February 1923 the authorities ordered the academy's activities dissolved. After the expulsion, Berdyaev and other former members established the Religious-Philosophical Academy in Berlin, continuing their lectures and discussions.