Philosophy and geopolitics of Nikolai Danilevsky

The monograph analyses the theory of cultural-historical types of Nikolai Yakovlevich Danilevsky (1822-1885). The Russian philosopher developed a model of the world-historical process based on the principle of synchronisation of diachrony according to which progress is limited to the framework of individual relatively closed and self-sufficient civilisations. Danilevsky's approach innovative for its time allowed him to reveal a number of the most important historical regularities and his criticism of Eurocentrism remains relevant to this day. However Danilevsky's philosophy of history was subordinated to his aggressive pan-Slavist geopolitical doctrine. Critically reinterpreted Danilevsky's ideas contribute both to a deeper understanding of the trends of social development and to an understanding of the origins of Russia's imperial and anti-Western policy.