The idea of Byzantium in Russian and soviet intellectual tradition, 1840-1970

Abstract

This article deals with the image of Byzantium in russian scholarship (both history, philosophy and theology) from the early XIXth century to mid-XXth century. A certain knowledge about Byzantium and the image of that empire built on that knowledge was important not only for professional historians dealing with early Russian history but also for theologians and philosophers working on the place of orthodox tradition within Russian heritage and on the ways of linking that tradition to the modern world.