Autocracy, Orthodoxy, & National Character
Autocracy, Orthodoxy, and National Character (Самодержа́вие, правосла́вие и наро́дность, "Samoderzhavie, Pravoslavie i Narodnost") was the motto of late tsars of the Imperial Russia. The term "Narodnost" presents most difficulties fo translators and is also rendered as "Nationalism", "Nationality", "National Spirit". This formulation is attributed to Count Sergey Uvarov (Серге́й Семёнович Ува́ров), President or Russian Academy of Sciences (1818-1855) during the reign of Nicholas I of Russia. The notions of Autocracy and Orthodoxy do not require additional explanations with respect to Russia. The notion of "Narodnost" as "National Spirit" meant to reflect originality and uniqueness of common Russian folk, the fundamental values of Russian culture and society, as opposed to Westernization: "To turn Russians back to Russian ways", by the words of Uvarov ("возвраща́ть ру́сских к ру́сскому"). This notion was close in its spirit to the Slavophile movement, which was on its rise since 1840s. It was thought that this tri-pronged formula symbolized the unity and harmony of Tsar and People based on Orthodoxy, as opposed to the social unrest in Europe at these times. This motto was assumed by the pro-monarchist Union of the Russian People ("Black Hundreds"), created in 1905.
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