EPISODE 50 - Konstantin Leontiev: The Russian Orthodox Nietzsche

Ethan Alexander-Davey and Glenn Cronin discuss the penetrating insights of the 19th century Russian Orthodox writer Konstantin Leontiev, an aristocratic voice who has become an important figure in Russian intellectual and political life since 1991, but remains unknown in the West. The conversation focuses on Dr. Cronin’s recent book, Disenchanted Wanderer: The Apocalyptic Vision of Konstantin Leontiev. Leontiev’s political philosophy combines a Nietzschean aestheticism with Orthodox Christian culture, which he called “Byzantinism.” Works by Glenn Cronin Disenchanted Wanderer: The Apocalyptic Vision of Konstantin Leontiev https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501760181/disenchanted-wanderer/   The Enduring Enigma of Lev Tikhomirov https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501783456/the-enduring-enigma-of-lev-tikhomirov/#bookTabs=1   Works by Ethan Alexander-Davey Aristocratic Souls in Democratic Times https://www.amazon.com/Aristocratic-Souls-Democratic-Political-Theory/dp/1498553265/   Aristocracy and the Καλλίπολις: Konstantin Leontiev and the Politics of ‘Flourishing Complexity' https://www.academia.edu/44382561/Aristocracy_and_the_%CE%9A%CE%B1%CE%BB%CE%BB%CE%AF%CF%80%CE%BF%CE%BB%CE%B9%CF%82_Konstantin_Leontiev_and_the_Politics_of_Flourishing_Complexity   Konstantin Leontiev in English Byzantinism and Slavdom https://www.amazon.com/Byzantinism-Slavdom-Konstantin-Leontiev/dp/B08LNLCLCL/   Lev Tikhomirov in English Why I Ceased to be a Revolutionary https://www.amazon.com/Why-Ceased-Revolutionary-Beginnings-Ends/dp/B08LNJKZ96/ The 2026 Ciceronian Society Conference will be held March 12-14 at Creighton University in Omaha, NE. Panel and paper proposals are due September 1, 2025. To lea... Chapters (00:00:00) - Introduction(00:02:09) - Who is Konstantin Leontiev?(00:06:48) - Why Read Leontiev?(00:11:26) - Two Stories About Leontiev(00:17:57) - Aestheticism(00:24:48) - Orthodoxy(00:31:01) - Theory of Civilizational Development(00:36:49) - Nationalism but not Ethnic Nationalism(00:41:25) - Criticism of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy(00:48:45) - Influence of Augustine(00:54:04) - Preview of Next Book