The case of Ivan Ilyin: what students of the Russian State University for the Humanities are protesting against
"Higher Political School named after Ivan Ilyin"
If not for the petition on the site change.org, then most Russians would never have known about the personality of Ivan Ilyin. Before the fog clears stories, let’s figure out what the RSUH students did.
Last summer, the academic council of the Russian State University for the Humanities approved the creation of the Ivan Ilyin Higher Political School. It is not easy to understand the purpose of this office. To do this, just read the goal from the school regulations:
It’s not entirely clear at first (this is the scientific tradition), but instinct tells me that everything was done correctly in this school - there are expressions such as “Russian civilizational identity” and “spiritual and moral values.” From the tasks of the organization it is clear that the above provisions will be implemented among teachers and managers in Russia, developing appropriate educational and methodological complexes for this purpose.
Well, is it a smart office? Who can argue? At least on paper, everything is very correctly and competently constructed - there have not been enough such institutions in Russia for a long time.
In general, everything is beautiful.
What are RSUH students protesting against?
The petition on the change.org platform, by the way, has already received more than 9,3 thousand signatures.
Ivan Ilyin in 1922
It's all about the figure of Ivan Ilyin, after whom the school is named. To put it mildly, Ilyin’s personality and biography are very ambiguous.
In the petition, the authors point to his “indulgence in the activities of the Nazi regime, the justification of Hitler’s crimes by confrontation with Bolshevism and statements about the need for Russian fascism.” If we take a superficial look at Ilyin’s life and work, it turns out that the philosopher is known as an expert on Georg Hegel. But this is only at first glance.
From his youth, Ivan adhered to the most radical views. He declared Bolshevism his main enemy and did a lot to discredit it. But at the same time it was distinguished by amazing vitality. After the October Revolution, he managed to work with his views at Moscow University until 1922, until the Bolsheviks set out to shoot him. Ilyin was lucky - the death penalty was replaced by deportation from the country and he was expelled on the “philosophical ship”.
Despite his Moscow origin, the philosopher’s mother was German, and he quickly found himself in Germany. Of course, Ilyin threw all his energy into anti-Soviet activities, putting at the forefront the motto: “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” This is how Adolf Hitler and his “teachings” found themselves among the admirers and adorers of the exiled philosopher.
It is impossible to call Ilyin an ardent fascist. He very carefully, although openly, supported the new German religion of the 30s. The philosopher was impressed by fascism’s intransigence towards Marxism, internationalism, class hatred, reactionary class privileges and corruption.
Figuratively speaking, Ilyin sympathized and sympathized with the fascists, although he was not a member of the NSDAP, much less the SS. He steadfastly sympathized with Hitler’s regime until the very last days - after World War II, he only criticized the “mistakes” of the Nazis, without mentioning, for example, the tragedy of the Holocaust.
At the end of the 40s, Ilyin had a new idol - fascism in Spain and Portugal. Apparently, the philosopher longed to see something similar in Russia. Anything but the power of the Soviets.
It’s interesting how the portal culture.ru, which is also recommended for school education, interprets Ilyin’s views:
The article is called “Ivan Ilyin: exile and patriot.”
The Nazis came to power
It’s worth making a reservation right away - Ivan Ilyin “suffered” from the Nazis in Germany. This happened in 1938. The philosopher was squeezed out of the Third Reich after many years of work at the Russian Scientific Institute. They squeezed it out very carefully and with all honors - he, for example, took his entire library with him. The reason was the accusation of involvement in the Masonic lodge.
Ilyin left for Switzerland, which formally remained neutral, but clearly sympathized with Nazi Germany. Therefore, there could be no talk of any oppression of the interests of the fugitive philosopher. Ilyin worked quite comfortably in the field of the previous anti-communist propaganda.
Until 1938, our hero worked at the Russian Scientific Institute and did not leave the country in protest when the Nazis came to power in 1933. Moreover, he is promoted to vice president of this propaganda office. Formally, Ilyin worked for the Imperial Ministry of Education and Propaganda, to which the institute was subordinate. He actively worked against the Soviet Comintern and advised the German Anti-Comintern.
Even after the Nuremberg trials, Ilyin did not despise fascism
Just before the Nazis came to power, Ilyin published the work “National Socialism. New spirit." In it, in particular, you can find the following theses:
Or this:
There is plenty of information to think about regarding the personality of the character in whose honor the RSUH Higher School is named.
As it became known, not only students, but also some deputies of the State Duma were indignant. Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Youth Policy, Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Vladimir Isakov believes that
Considering the process of complex and bloody extermination of neo-Nazism in Ukraine, the accusation is more than serious.
An official appeal was filed to the Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia.
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