Charismatic Intellectual at the Center of a Kruzhok: The Case of Alexey Losev

• In Event: The Teacher: Charismatic Intellectuals in Academic and Literary Institutions in Soviet Russia

Abstract

In this paper, I explore kruzhki of late Soviet academic intelligentsia on the example of the circle assembled around Alexey Losev, one of the most renowned philosophers of Soviet times. In 1960-80s, Losev was a cult figure of Late Soviet humanities and often described as the last representative of the so-called religious and philosophical renaissance in Russia. Along with his second wife, Aza Takho-Godi, the head of the Department of Classical Philology at MSU, he gathered people from many diverse groups: conservative scholars holding important positions in the Soviet academy, young graduate students working as Losev’s secretaries, and non-academic admirers who regarded him more as a spiritual leader. I believe that the complexity of ties between these individuals, the intersection of intellectual influences, business relations, friendships, and moral or religious discipleship, not only characterized this particular circle but defines the uniqueness of the kruzhok as a social and cultural form.
I generally follow Pierre Bourdieu's approach, connecting philosophical analysis of concepts, social analysis of intellectual groups, and historical analysis of symbolic forms used for these groups’ self-representation. Based on memoirs and oral history interviews collected in 2023-2024, I describe the social structure of Losev’s kruzhok, political tensions between its factions, and the intellectual impact of its work, which remains relevant for conservative Russian philosophy today.

Author

• Egor Sokolov, U of Oxford (UK)