"A close friend to Dostoevsky and a bête noire to Tolstoy, Pobedonostsev is still considered the foremost proponent and representative of an 'unshakeably' autocratic Romanov rule. His name is very often synonymous with monarchical absolutism."
If one studies late Romanov Russia, or the Golden Age of Russian thought, poetry and literature, there is one name in statesmanship and political philosophy that, alongside the literary giants Tolstoy, Turgenev, Chekhov, Gorky and Dostoevsky, you probably can't get away from. Konstantin Petrovich Pobedonostsev, the
éminence grise of Russian statecraft under
Tsar Aleksandr III and
Tsar S. Nikolai II, and Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, was probably the most influential figure in Russia's civic, cultural and political life toward the end of the long 19th century. A close friend to Dostoevsky and a
bête noire to Tolstoy, Pobedonostsev is still considered the foremost proponent and representative of an 'unshakeably' autocratic Romanov rule. His name is very often synonymous with monarchical absolutism.
Yet, his
Reflections of a Russian Statesman, a broad-ranging work of essays and literary sketches that primarily explores questions of political philosophy, education and statesmanship, paints a somewhat more nuanced picture. It would be foolish to deny that Pobedonostsev's politics are reactionary, but it is a reaction grounded in an instinct which closely resembles that of the
Slavophils whom he occasionally critiques. Through each page of his
Reflections burns an ardour, what reminds one of an all-consuming erotic
lust for truth, as defined by and as borne out in the integrated whole of lived experience. This romantic ardour is matched only by a detestation of those falsehoods which present themselves as thin facsimiles of truth - logical formulae, abstract theories, ideological credos and oversimplifications of complex issues.
He rightly points out the hypocrisies of the intellectuals of his time who seek to perform public obsequies for the idols of voluntaristic rationalism, materialism, utilitarianism, modern education, free love, eugenics, the ideology of capital, church-state separation, press freedom and democracy.
Comment: Unfortunately, Israel had no interest in "resolving all doubts" concerning the peaceful intent of Dimona, because there was no peaceful intent. Remember, before a nuclear weapon was but a twinkle in the eyes of Iran's leaders, Israel was stocked up and as belligerent as ever. Iran isn't the greatest threat to peace in the Middle East; Israel is. And they'll take the world down with it, if it comes to that.