Historian or Philosopher of History? George Fedotov about the Causes of Revolution and Mission of Russia

Abstract

Thе paper analyzes the articles of George Fedotov published during 1918‒1930 years, giving a presentation of philosophical and historical concept, its genesis and formation peculiarities; the author
makes the attempt to trace scientific interest transformation path of Fedotov from historian to
the political publicist and philosopher of history. The paper deals with the path of the philosopher,
who appeared to be among Russian intellectuals who gone “from materialism to idealism”, and then
to religious thought; the author explores the works of native and foreign researchers of Fedotov.
This paper also discusses the views of George Fedotov concerning the mission of Russia and its
place in historical process. The paper raises the question about opportunity to consider intellectual
evolution of George Fedotov in historical and philosophical context expanding traditional biographical approach in frames of the existing discourse on his work.