The foundations of Russian existentialism in the legacy of A. Grigoriev

The article examines the foundations of Russian existentialism in the journalistic, epistolary and poetic heritage of A. Grigoriev. It is shown that the source of A. Grigoriev’s philosophizing as a protest against the “slavery” and pantheism of Hegel’s system is the same as that of S. Kierkegor. The key existential categories of A. Grigoriev were “ideal” and “soil” as two components of personal existence that require efforts of spiritual development. The “soil” conceals an “ideal” in the set, which should be personally actualized, but it is impossible without the “soil”. The existential of the “soil” was almost 100 years ahead of the congenial existential of the “earth” by M. Heidegger. In A. Grigoriev’s poetic texts, the “borderline situation” is very vividly shown as the source of philosophy and personal development.