Potential Orthodoxy VS barbarity: "The Russian idea" of N. Berdyaev in a mirror of the historical and cultural concept of P. Sorokin
The article examines the key points of the historiosophical concept of Nikolay Aleksandrovich Berdyaev, first of all, his understanding of the «Russian idea». At the same time, the perception of Berdyaev's historiosophy by another prominent thinker of Russian emigration, Pitirim Alexandrovich Sorokin, is analyzed. The author notes that there has not yet been given a scientific assessment of the interpretation of Nikolay Berdyaev’s heritage by Pitirim Sorokin. The article uses several basic scientific methods for analyzing the issues being studied: prosopographic method, contextualism, phenomenological description. Pitirim Sorokin considered Nikolay Berdyaev to be a major and independent thinker, and considered his cultural-historical concept in the context of a research of other major thinkers of the twentieth century. The main accents of the Sorokin interpretation of the heritage of Berdyaev are highlighted. Special attention is paid to the concepts of «potential religiosity» and «barbarism». It is emphasized that both thinkers considered the future of Russia ambiguously. Nikolay Berdyaev saw him more definitely and optimistically. For his part, Pitirim Sorokin suggested the possibility of alternative ways of development of our country. It is concluded that the considerations of Nikolay Berdyaev and Pitirim Sorokin remain relevant not only in modern Russia, but may be important in the intellectual pursuit of future generations of our compatriots.