History as a subject of reflection of Russian society in the first third of the XIX century

This article attempts to identify and analyze the reasons for the interest of Russian society to the national past in the 1800s and 1830s. As a starting point, the author chooses the era of Peter I, because it is at the time of his rule has to the final abandonment of the medieval world view, based on the orthodox system of views and values, and the transition to a secular, secular culture. Further, the article traces the dynamics of the idea of Great Russia, formed under Peter I, and the causes of its collapse on the idea of Great Russia and the idea of the fatherland, as well as updating caused by these concepts of “state”, “country”, “national identity”, “nationality”. The author notes that the causes of interest to Russian antiquity were due to the influence of the Patriotic War of 1812 and the philosophy of Romanticism, it reveals the uniqueness of the relationship to the historical past among the various social groups and examines trends in understanding of history (the history of the formation as a science, collecting), analyzes the trends that have led to the closing of the history and philosophy.