Idealism flourished in Russia in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. The most significant thinker in this movement was Vladimir Soloviev (1853–1900), whose ideas influenced an entire generation of philosophers and inspired the Russian religious-philosophical renaissance of the early twentieth century. In the post-Soviet era, Soloviev’s thought is again much discussed, as religious philosophy returns to prominence in Russia.

At first sight, Soloviev’s contribution seems remote from most nineteenth-century Russian philosophy, written by men of letters and political activists preoccupied with the social issues raised by the backwardness and brutality of Russian life. Yet although Soloviev was a scholar, he was equally concerned with practical matters of human wellbeing. His work shares the predominant theme of all Russian philosophy: the search for a conception of regenerated humanity, where human beings live harmoniously as parts of an integral whole and the forces that alienate and divide us are overcome. Soloviev is admired for his critique of positivism (Soloviev 1874 [1996]), but it would be misleading to portray the Russian scene as dominated by a confrontation between positivism and idealism. At issue was a broader conflict between naturalism and supernaturalism, between secular and religious visions of humanity’s destiny. To appreciate the significance of Soloviev’s thought, and the tradition it created, it must be seen in historical context.