Evgeny Vasilyevich Spektorsky

Evgeny Vasilyevich Spektorsky (1875-1951)

Evgeny may be spelt Eugene, Evgeniy, Yevgeny

Early life of Evgeny Vasilyevich Spektorsky

On 15 October, 1875, Evgeny Vasilyevich Spektorsky was born into a noble family in Ostrog (Ostroh), in the Volyn Governorate of the Russian Empire.

His parents were Vasily Alexandrovich Spektorsky (a magistrate), and Sofia Fedorovna Kraft (a Swiss citizen). There were 3 other brothers : Sergei, Alexander, and Boris (1878-1920).

Evgeny received his primary education in Ostrog.

He then entered the classical gymnasium in Radom, Poland (100 km/62 mi south of Warsaw.

From there, he graduated in 1893, with a gold medal.

Higher education

From 1893 to 1897, Evgeny Vasilyevich followed the example of his father, and he studied in the Faculty of Law of the Imperial University of Warsaw.

Imperial University of Warsaw

During this time, he was a pupil of Professor A L Blok (father of the poet A A Blok).

In 1898, he graduated from the Law Faculty of Warsaw, with the degree of Candidate of Law. He received this degree for his work : "Jean-Jacques Rousseau as a Political Writer".

After graduation, he was kept at the Department of Public Law in order to prepare for a professorship. His path was directed generally in the realm of public and state activities within the higher education system.

Research in Western Europe, 1901-1903

During the years 1901-1903 he was on a scientific mission abroad, in Western Europe. He worked in the libraries of Berlin, Göttingen, Heidelberg and Paris.

From 1903, he served as a "D. privat-docent" (private assistant professor, non-staff lecturer).

Further education

In 1911, after defending his thesis, he received the degree Master of Public Law at Yurievsky University in Voronezh, Russia.

From 1911, he served as a tenured professor in the Encyclopaedia Department, and of the History of the Philosophy of Law of the University of Warsaw.

In 1913, he became a professor at the Saint Vladimir Imperial University in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Saint Vladimir University, Kyiv

World War I, 1914

From 1914, Evgeny Vasilyevich worked as an extraordinary professor ; and from 1917, as an ordinary professor at the Law Faculty of the University of Saint Vladimir in Kyiv in the Encyclopaedia Department, and in the History of Legal Philosophy Department. This period of service was parallel to the beginning and progress of World War I.

During 1915, much of the university's resources and personnel were evacuated for a time to Saratov by the Volga River, and then returned. This occurred because of threats from the Imperial German Army.

Bolshevik Revolution, 1917

In 1917, Evgeny Vasilyevich received the degree of Doctor of State Law from the Moscow Imperial University, after the submission of his dissertation "The Problem of Social Physics in the 12th Century".

Moscow Imperial University

From May, 1917, Evgeny Vasilyevich taught in the Faculty of Law in the Imperial University in Moscow.

Then began the turmoil that arose with the Bolshevik Revolution of October, 1917.

In early 1918, he was elected to be the Dean of the Faculty of Law in what had become the Moscow State University.

In 1918, he served also as the Chairman of the Kyiv Philosophical Society.

From April, 1918, until April, 1919, Evgeny Vasilyevich was the Rector of the Saint Vladimir University in Kiev, Ukraine. He was the last elected rector of this university.

In the summer of 1918, he was arrested briefly by the Imperial German Army in Kyiv.

White Movement activities ; establishment of an independent Ukraine

From 1917, a War of Independence was in progress towards the establishment of a Ukrainian republic.

This war lasted until 1921, and it added to the turmoil of both the world war and the revolution.

In March, 1919, the Bolsheviks removed Evgeny Vasilyevich from the position of rector of the Saint Vladimir University in Kyiv (later re-named as the Taras Shevchenko University).

In August, 1919, he was reinstated to the position of Rector by General A I Denikin. At the same time, he was appointed to be a trustee of the Kyiv School District and Deputy General Director of Public Education.

However, because he supported the White Movement, in November, 1919, he had to move south to Odessa, again primarily for political reasons (although as an active Orthodox Christian, this fact also could well have threatened his life).

Exile, 1920 : Thessaloniki ; Yugoslavia

In early 1920, Evgeny Vasilyevich was evacuated from Novorossiysk, a Black Sea port. From there, he travelled to Greece, to Thessaloniki. From there, he travelled to Vranje in the Kingdom of Yugolsavia.

The years of emigration and exile had begun.

By that time, the name of Evgeny Vasilyevich Spektorsky was already well-known and, therefore, he was immediately elected to be a professor at the University of Belgrade, in Belgrade. He began his service in this professorship in April, 1920.

While he was teaching, he served also as the chairman of the Society of Russian Scientists (of which he was amongst the founders).

In 1922, he was the Chairman of the 2nd Congress of Russian Academic Organisations in Prague, Czechoslovakia, and he was a member of the Board of the Union of Russian Academic Organisations.

Evgeny V Spektorsky

Prague, 1924

In 1924, Evgeny Vasilyevich moved to Prague. There, he was a lecturer at the Russian Law Faculty, at the Charles University. He also served as a professor of the Department of the Philosophy of Law.

In addition, he served both as the deputy, and as the Chairman of the Russian College of Education.

Charles University, Prague

In 1925, he became a member of the Russian Historical Society, and Chairman of the Russian Academic Group in Czechoslovakia.

In 1927, Evgeny Vasilyevich was appointed to be the Dean of the Russian Law Faculty in Czechoslovakia.

Belgrade, 1927

From 1927, he lived again in Belgrade (Beograd), where he worked as a professor at the University of Belgrade (1927-1930). He was also the first chairman of the board of the Russian Scientific Institute in Belgrade (1928-1930).

Belgrade University Library

Together with V H Davatzem, he was an editor of the “Materials for the Bibliography of Russian Scientific Works Abroad” (Belgrade, 1931, 1941).

Ljubljana, 1930

In 1930, Evgeny Vasilyevich moved to Ljubljana, in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, as Professor of the University of Ljubljana (1930-1945). He taught Constitutional Law, Legal Philosophy, and Introduction to Sociology.

University of Ljubljana

From 1931 to 1945, he was chairman of the Russian Matitsa National Educational Organisation, and the Slovenian Society of Legal Philosophy and Sociology in Ljubljana.

In 1934, he was elected to be a corresponding member of the Serbian Royal Academy of Sciences.

Italy, 1945

In 1945, following World War II, for fear of persecution by the Soviets as a White Movement emigrant, Evgeny Vasilyevich was forced to flee with his wife, and to make their way to Italy.

In Italy, they spent 2 years in a total of 9 Displaced Persons (DP) Camps (including the Trieste Camp in Trieste, Italy).

Emigration to North America, 1947

In 1947, with the help of the Tolstoy Foundation, an invitation arrived for Evgeny Vasilyevich (Eugene) to travel to New York City, USA, in order to participate in the development of the Saint Vladimir Theological Seminary (Academy).

Teaching at Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, 1947

Eugene arrived in New York City at a time when others were also arriving from Europe. These persons all enriched the teaching at the seminary, the exposure of students to more of the Russian tradition of study and teaching, and the mutual support of the faculty in a safer environment.

Saint Vladimir's Seminary at that time was situated in New York City, within the administration’s rented space. There were arrangements with both Columbia College and the General Theological Seminary in the city (at 537 West 121st Street, New York 27, NY (at Broadway), in the Morningside Neighbourhood).

At that time, the seminary was still operating principally using the Russian Language.

In 1947, both Nicolas S Arseniev and Nicolas O Lossky arrived in the USA in order to teach at Saint Vladimir’s Seminary, and in some other universities. Previously, both these professors had lived in exile, and had taught in Paris, France. They had lived through World War II in Europe.

George P Fedotov, who was a Russian religious philosopher, had already been teaching at Saint Vladimir’s Seminary since 1939. He reposed in 1951, the same year as did Eugene Spektorsky.

It was in 1949 that the Archpriest Georges Florovsky arrived from Paris, France, since he had been transferred and assigned to serve as the Dean of Saint Vladimir’s Seminary.

In 1951, Alexander A Bogolepov arrived in New York from Germany, where he had lived in exile. He had been invited to teach Canon Law and other courses at Saint Vladimir’s Seminary.

Evgeny Vasilyevich continued to serve as a professor until the last days of his life. At Saint Vladimir's Seminary, he taught ethics, sociology, canon law.

From 1948 to 1951, he served also as the first chairman of the Russian Academic Group in the USA.

Repose, 1951

Evgeny Vasilyevich Spektorsky reposed in Christ in New York City on 3 March, 1951, at the age of 75.

After the Funeral Services for the Burial of a Lay-person, his body was interred at the Saint Tikhon’s Monastery Cemetery in South Canaan, Pennsylvania.

Grave Cross at Saint Tikhon's Monastery Cemetery

Reflections

Professor Evgeny Vasilyevich Spektorsky was at Saint Vladimir's Seminary just after World War II, and he was teaching there with a notable group of other well-known and capable educators who had been forced into exile. Although there were few Canadian students who were able to go to Saint Vladimirvs Seminary at that time, there were certainly American students, and some of them spent time serving in Canada.

It may be said that any professor either at Saint Vladimirvs Seminary or at Saint Tikhon's Seminary (which was established at about the same time in 1938) had some sort of influence on the formation of future clergy who would serve in Canada.

Comments about the work of E V Spektorsky :

According to Nikolas O Lossky (in “History of Russian Philosophy”) (1991), p. 425), in Evgeny V Spektorsky’s book “Christianity and Culture”, it is convincingly demonstrated that Christianity has a high positive value for all areas of spiritual, social and even material culture : philosophy, science, art. It gives creative sources for the development of the idea of personality, of justice, of the state, and so forth.

Memoirs of E V Spektorsky

When he fled suddenly from Ljubliana, his very extensive memoirs had to be left behind. They were considered to be lost, but they were recovered providentially in the 1960s. Ultimately, they were accepted by the Archives of the University of Bremen in Bremen, Germany, where they remain.

Description of the thought of E V Spektorsky :

His academic work has received international recognition : he was elected a corresponding member
of the Serbian Academy of Sciences in Belgrade, and in the Slavic Institute in Prague, an honourary
member of the Society of Russian Scientists in Yugoslavia, the Russian Academic Group in Prague,
and the Society of Gallipoli in Belgrade. The main directions of scientific research of
E V Spektorsky were the history and theory of social sciences, philosophy of religion, history of
Russian culture, and state studies. A valuable contribution was made by this scientist in the study
of the features of ethical knowledge. He gave a convincing criticism of the naturalistic
understanding of society. He analysed questions about systematics in social science, about realism,
and nominalism in social sciences. He expressed interesting ideas about the reality of law.
A separate theme of Spectorsky’s reflections is the peculiarity of philosophical thinking, which,
according to his ideas, does not bind itself with categories of reality or necessity, but remains
entirely in the area of the possible. Therefore, philosophy in its essence is the free search for
the spirit, which occupies an intermediate area between the spheres of science and religion.
If scientific knowledge is aimed at comprehending the laws of the reality surrounding us, and
religion reveals the supreme law of divine truth, then philosophy opens for people a wonderful
world of creativity with its possibilities.

E V Spektorsky investigated the relationship of the formation of philosophical thought with the
development of science. A separate subject of his study was the 17th century, when, on the ruins
of the Middle Ages and through the overcoming of Renaissance thinking, the image of the science of
the New Age was formed. Spektorsky’s book ‘’The Problem of Social Physics in the 17th Century’ has
not lost its significance to this day, although it was pushed into the book depository and, alas,
still remains unclaimed. Describing the way of thinking of the Middle Ages, he notes that in that
era reality was understood through a certain set of legalised operations : through syllogism,
abstraction, and dialectics. These terms, in the context of the dominant picture of the world,
acquired specific features ; in particular, the dialectic was turned into a means of conducting
dogmatic ‘disputes’.

Emerging science, which forms the basic standards and principles of the new approach to nature,
did not need endless speeches. Its creators declared that it was necessary to coordinate thoughts
not with authorities, but with facts. The scholastic syllogistic was strongly criticised : the
distinction between generic and specific differences of concepts did not correspond to the monistic
tendency of modern European philosophy. Spektorsky shows that the methodologists of the 17th century
realised the significance of the fact that the formal correctness of the conclusion does not protect
thinking from false assumptions. Finally, natural science was alien to the scholastics, who,
instead of studying specific objects of nature, talked about concepts and ideas.

The methodological model in modern times becomes classical mechanics, the rigour of which is determined
by mathematics. It is significant that Descartes expressed the idea of the need to develop a universal
mathematical method, linking it with geometry. In this era, ‘the spirit of geometry’, as E V Spektorsky
notes, ‘penetrated into all areas of scientific knowledge : not only the physical, but also the mental
and even moral world were viewed geometrically. This spirit penetrated even into the art of the
17th century ; it was dominated symmetry, strict, cold lines. The beauty of nature was understood to the
extent that it fit into geometrical images. Since by itself, in its natural state, nature rarely shows
such images, even as in the 18th century when Rousseau on his trips learned to understand the beauty
of an asymmetric landscape – such as Alpine mountains, gorges and valleys. Before, in the seventeenth
century, art corrected or at least complemented nature – just as state studies of that time artificially
constructed the present, symmetrical, balanced civil society from the raw, elemental natural material
of the human condition’.

E V Spektorsky contributed much to the theory of culture ; he anticipated some structuralist discoveries
while remaining at the same time a deeply Christian thinker. A selection of sections from his work
‘Christianity and Culture’, below, sufficiently confirms this characteristic. It was not for nothing
that V V Zenkovsky wrote in his article on the philosopher : ‘Elegantly and deeply, with excellent
knowledge of the essence of the case in various types of culture and with an excellent account of all
historical reality, Evgeny Vasilievich conducts his analysis. True, the incomparable height of
Christianity stands out with his utter clarity’.

Spectorsky did not share with Spengler, the opposition of culture and civilisation. The latter,
from the point of view of the Russian theorist, is only a particular kind of culture, more precisely,
a social culture. The impact of man on nature creates something that goes beyond the natural.
Culture is found as an art, as something that is absent in nature. It is peculiar only to man. It is
supernatural in essence, and therefore it is not for nothing that they talk about the wonders of technology.
Among the topics of concern to E V Spektorsky are the secret foundations of Russian culture. Noting
that it can be understood only as a continuous work, he stressed that its development is imbued with deep
drama and even tragedy, when the goals and means of the historical process did not coincide, and good did
not always defeat evil.

In the history of national culture, he distinguished three main phases : holy Russia, great Russia
and free Russia. From the end of the 10th century, Christianity became part of the essence of
Russian life. 'In the Russian consciousness', said Spektorsky, 'the first Christian ideal of
holiness was deeply rooted, which in the West was replaced first by the ethics of knightly honour,
and then by bourgeois honesty, a fairly shaky fundamental amoralism of the new time'. Peter I Romanov put
forward a new formula : 'great Russia', in which churchhood was pushed aside by statehood. In the
proclaimed great power in the West, they saw the call for capture, saw in it the 'Russian danger'.
The true meaning of all these accusations, reminds E V Spektorsky, was well disclosed by I S Aksakov,
who wrote : 'If whistles and din are raised about the lust for power and the conquering lust of Russia,
know that any Western European power is preparing a shameless someone else's land'.

Russian culture has received universal scope and international recognition. But she still lacked,
the philosopher believed, the inclusion of the general public, of what can be called the
emancipation of Russia. Pushkin also dreamed of introducing the non-oppressed people to the
'freedom of the enlightened'. The transformative liberation movement, despite all sorts of failures
and retreats, according to Spectorsky, gained momentum until 1917, when this creative evolution
was forcibly interrupted.

Indeed, the October Revolution radically changed the situation, rejecting those who did not
accept the new society from a foreign land. And the Russian emigrants faced the most difficult
task not only to preserve the Faith of their fathers, but also to justify it. Spektorsky raises
the question of the missionary purpose of emigration, which should consist in the adherence
to Orthodoxy and even simply to the Christianity of new generations of Russian people. With
humour, he states the costs of anti-religious education in our homeland. When a delegation of
Soviet youth in Ljubljana showed an unfinished iconostasis in the church and explained that
there would be icons here, they confirmed with an understanding look : 'Ah, portraits of the gods'.

One of the last works by E V Spektorsky, 'Epochs of Russian Culture', published posthumously,
contains the covenant of an old, wise man who, with all the hardships of life’s journey, always
remained a Russian patriot : 'We are attentive, rarely friendly, mostly mistrustful, and even
completely hostile in the eyes of foreigners ; and it obliges us. We cannot prevent anyone from
hating us. But it depends on us not to be despised. And for this, we must remember the golden
words of Suorov : “Have mercy on us, O God, we are Russians”. The meaning of these words is not
cosmopolitanism, not strangers, and not bragging, but as Tolstoy put it in “Sevastopol Stories” :
“a feeling that is rarely manifested and shy in Russian”, namely, love of country. This feeling
tells us that Pushkin was right when he identified Russia with steadfastness. In the hope of
glory and kindness, he looked forward without fear'.

Gratitude is expressed for the work regarding E V Spektorsky by M Yu Sorokina and others, who prepared the source-texts in Russian for this summary.

Writings

• “On the Issue of Systematization in Social Science” (Warsaw, 1903)

• “Organic Theory of Society” (Warsaw, 1904)

• “Essays on the Philosophy of Social Sciences” (Warsaw, 1907)

• “Ergard Weigel, a forgotten Rationalist of the 17th Century” (Warsaw, 1909)

• “Physicalism in the Social Philosophy of the 17th Century” (Yaroslavl, 1909)

• “The Problem of Social Physics in the 17th Century”, vol. 1 (Warsaw, 1910) ; vol. 2 (Kiev, 1917) “Problema sotsialnoi fiziki” (in Russian)

• “The Problem of Social Physics in the 17th Century”, vol. 2 (St Petersburg, 2006)

• “A L Blok, State Scientist and Philosopher” (Warsaw, 1911)

• “The Concept of Society in the ancient World : Study on the Semantics of Social Science” (Warsaw, 1911)

• “Belinsky and Westernism” (Warsaw, 1912)

• “On the Question of the System of the ‘Spirit of Laws’ of Montesquieu and its Philosophical Sources” (Yaroslavl, 1912)

• “To the Dispute about the Philosophy of Law” (Moscow, 1914)

• “Natural Law among Protestant Authors of the 16th Century” (Yaroslavl, 1914)

• “The Origin of Protestant Rationalism” (Warsaw, 1914)

• “Protestantism and Rationalism in the 16th and 17th Centuries” (Warsaw, 1914)

• “Nominalism and Realism in the Social Sciences” (Moscow, 1915)

• “Manuals for Lectures on the History of the Philosophy of Law” (Saratov, 1916)

• “Theory of Solidarity” (Moscow, 1916)

• “What is a Constitution ?” (Moscow, 1917)

• “The State” (1918)

• “Christianity and Culture” (1925)

• “The Beginnings of the Science of State and Society” (1927)

• Ivan Bunin and Evgeny Spektorsky : Correspondance (1928-1933)

• “Chekhov” (Belgrade, 1930)

• “The State and Life” (1931)

• “The History of Social Physics” (2 vols., 1932 & 1938 in Slovenian)

• “Liberalism” (Ljubljana, 1935)

• “Materials for the Bibliography of Russian Scientific Works Abroad” (1920-1940), ed. E V Spektorsky, vol. 1, no. 376 (Belgrade, 1931), pp. 294-297 & vol. 2, no. 293 (Belgrade, 1941), pp. 310-317.

Partial bibliography of articles by others from various sources about him :

• Ermichev, A A, “E V Spektorsky (1875-1951)”

• Filatov, V P, ‘Spektorsky’ in “New Philosophical Encyclopedia”, 4 volumes, 2nd edition, before Scientific Council, ed. V S Stepin with correspondances and additions (Moscow : Thought, 2010), 2816 pages.

• Mikhalchenko, S I, ‘Documents by E V Spektorsky in the Archives of the Institute of Eastern Europe at the University of Bremen’, in “Domestic Archives”, no. 6 (Moscow, 2011), pp. 64-68.

• ......, ‘Memoirs of E V Spektorsky’ in “Brill Journal of Modern Russian History and Historiography”, no. 3 (2010), pp. 161-198.

• Mikhalchenko, S I, & Tkachenko, ‘E V Evgeny Vasilyevich Spektorsky’ in “Questions of History”, no. 1 (2013), pp. 31-53.

• Zernov, Nikolai, ‘Evgeny Spektorsky’ in “Russian Émigré Writers 1921-1972”, p. 125.

References

Russian Wikipedia biography

Biography of E V Spektorsky by Protopresbyter V Zenkovsky

Book Club Short biography

Russiangrave.ru biography and writings of Evgeny Spektorsky

Serbian Academy of Sciences profile about Evgeny Spektorsky

Additional information :

Mihalčenko, Sergei Ivanovic, “The Slovenian Period in the Life of E V Spektorsky (the 1930s) : Unpublished Materials”

……, “‘Memoirs’ E V Spektorsky as a Source for the History of University Life during World War I”

Philosophia web-site : “E V Spektorsky : Philosopher and Culturologist”

Plašienková, Zlatica ; Slobodian, Oksana, “Some ethical-religious Views of Nikolai O. Lossky and Eugene V. Spektorsky (searching for thought parallels)”

“The Problem of Social Physics in the 17th Century, vol. 1, New Worldview and New Theory of Science” (E V Spektorsky’s thesis at the University of Tartu, Estonia, 1918)

Prokurat, Michael ; Petersen, Michael ; Golitzen, Alexander, ‘St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary’ in “Historial Dictionary of the Orthodox Church” (Lanham, MD : Scarecrow Press, 1996), pp. 287-288. ISBN-13 : 978-0810830813 ; ISBN-10 : 0810830817.

Sanidopoulos, John, “Rare Film Footage of Notable Russian Orthodox Thinkers at the St Sergius Institute of Paris Between 1926 and 1934” 2 April, 2021)

Russian Orthodox Church web-site

Orthodoxwiki article about the Church of Russia

Orthodox Church in America web-site

Orthodoxwiki article about The Orthodox Church in America

Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary web-site

Orthodoxwiki article about Saint Vladimir’s Seminary

(Belavin) Archbishop (Saint) Tikhon (Belavin)

Metropolitan Ireney (Bekish)

Metropolitan Theodosius (Lazor)

Nicolas S Arseniev

Nicolas O Lossky