Between providence and revolution : Russian religious philosophical and Marxist interpretations of war and victory in the 1910s–1930s

Abstract

This article examines the intellectual history of war and victory in early twentieth-century Russia, focusing on two distinct traditions: Russian religious philosophy and early Soviet Marxist thought. While differing profoundly in worldview and method, both traditions conceptualized victory as more than a military outcome, reflecting on its moral, political, and even ontological legitimacy. Within the religious–philosophical tradition, a whole range of positions can be identified: from radical Slavophile notions of war as a means of securing Russia’s long-overdue distinctiveness (Ern, Bulgakov) to more universalist views that emphasized the necessity for Russia to follow a path of reconciliation and service to all humanity (Frank). What united these thinkers, however, was their shared conviction that Russian people held a spiritual mission and Russia could be transfigured through war. By contrast, Marxist theorists (Lenin, Bukharin, Trotsky) interpreted war through the lens of historical materialism and political pragmatism, presenting victory in the Civil War as a teleologically necessary stage in the global struggle for emancipation and socialism. Despite their differences, these discourses converged in attributing world-historical significance to war and triumph in it, thereby legitimizing violence and structuring moral justifications for authorities.