Evolution of the concept of «life» in the Russian spiritual and political discourse of the 11th — early 20th centuries. Article One
https://doi.org/10.24290/1029-3736-2026-32-3-38-69
Abstract
Life («zhizn») as a value category is one of the central concepts in Russian culture, as evidenced by the widespread use of this concept in Russian texts from the 11th to the 19th centuries. The first article explores the main meanings of the concept of «life» in Russian spiritual and political discourse from the 11th to the 17th centuries, presenting and analyzing various interpretations of this concept during this period of Russian history. The study is based on a large corpus of Russian spiritual, historical, literary, artistic, and journalistic works, as well as on official documents and the search engine of the National Corpus of the Russian Language. In addition to the general scientific methodological framework, the main research methods were content analysis and political-textual analysis.
The article uses a large amount of factual material to show that, according to the ideas of people in the 11th–17th centuries, life («zhizn») is the highest value, a gift from God to man as His best creation, where the highest form of life is eternal blissful existence in the Kingdom of God. It is no coincidence that in Old Church Slavonic and Church Slavonic, the concept of «life» had several words for its expression (zhizn, zhitie, zhivot), and the concepts of earthly and heavenly life were separated and often expressed by different words: «zhivot» and «zhitie» often referred to a person’s earthly existence from birth to the end of their days, while «zhizn» often referred to their posthumous existence and eternal bliss in the divine realm.
About the Authors
S. V. PerevezentsevRussian Federation
Perevezentsev Sergey V., Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor of Department of History of Social and Political Doctrines, Faculty of Political Science
GSP-1, Lomonosovskiy prospect, 27, korp. 4, Moscow, , 119991
A. R. Boronin
Russian Federation
Boronin Artoym R., Post-graduate student at the Department of History of SocioPolitical Studies, Faculty of Political Science
GSP-1, Lomonosovskiy prospect, 27, korp. 4, Moscow, , 119991
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Review
For citations:
Perevezentsev S.V., Boronin A.R. Evolution of the concept of «life» in the Russian spiritual and political discourse of the 11th — early 20th centuries. Article One. Moscow State University Bulletin. Series 18. Sociology and Political Science. 2026;32(3):38-69. https://doi.org/10.24290/1029-3736-2026-32-3-38-69
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