“A hermit” (on the deviated path of the philosopher Nikolay Strakhov)

Te article is devoted to the specific biographical and personal features of the philosopher Nikolay Strakhov (1828-1896), who was born into the family of a priest, grew up under the tutorship of his uncle, a high-ranking monk, and graduated from the Kostroma Teological Seminary in Kostroma, but deviated from the spiritual path. Nevertheless the modest conduct and solitary mode of living among books as well as the creative works of this “secular monk” revealed an evident similarity to the monastic lifestyle. Te article focuses on the philosopher’s travels to the Optina Pustyn monastery (together with Leo Tolstoy) and to Mt. Athos.