Konstantin Leontiev's Byzantism and Vladimir Solovyov's philosophy of religion. Part II: from friendly religious polemics to ideological conflict

The second part of the article devoted to Konstantin Leontiev’s perception of Vladimir Solovyov’s philosophy of religion deals with the events of the years 1888-91, when from warm contacts and friendly religious discussions Leontiev and Solovyov gradually turned to ideological debates in the press and eventually to a divergence of their paths. Latently, the worsening of their relations began back in 1887, when Solovyov joined the westernist journal The Herald of Europe , which was for the conservative-minded Leontiev an embodiment of vulgar liberal progressivism. Yet although in 1888 Leontiev published a series of articles under the general title “Vladimir Solovyov against Danilevsky”, where he not so much refuted Solovyov’s opinions as paid tribute to his ideas clarifying his own standpoint. The same indulgence to Solovyov’s views characterized the unfinished treatise “Who is more Right?” in the form of letters addressed to Solovyov, in which Leontiev tried to explain his views in polemics with the conservative thinker Piotr Astafiev, who accused Leontiev of denouncing the national principle. Leontiev vainly urged Solovyov to play the role of a judge in this discussion. Their friendship was irreversibly broken only a month before Leontiev’s death in 1891, after Solovyov had written a research paper “On a Decline of Medieval Worldview”, ideologically unacceptable for Leontiev. The latter wrote a series of indignant letters to his like-minded disciples, declaring a break of relations with Solovyov and even wishing that the dissident philosopher should be exiled. The article also discusses two Solovyov’s articles written after Leontiev’s demise.