Neo-Slavism

Neo-Slavism was a short-lived movement originating in Austria-Hungary around 1908 and influencing nearby Slavic states in the Balkans as well as Russia. Neoslavists promoted cooperation between Slavs on equal terms in order to resist Germanization, pursue modernization as well as liberal reforms, and wanted to create a democratic community of Slavic nations without a dominating influence of Russia.[1][2]

Contemporary map of the Slavic speaking nations of Europe. South Slavs are highlighted in dark green, East Slavs in medium green, and West Slavs in light green.

It was a branch of a larger and older Pan-Slavism ideology.[3] Unlike Pan-Slavism, Neo-Slavism did not attach importance to religion and did not discriminate between Catholics and Orthodox believers, did not support the creation of a single Slavic state, and was mostly interested in a non-violent realization of its program.[4]

History

The movement originated among the Slavs of Austria-Hungary who wished to achieve equal status in that state with the Austrians and Hungarians.[5] It was particularly popular with the Young Czech Party in Austria-Hungary[6][7] and has been described as "essentially a Czech creation".[8] The Neo-Slav movement held two congresses. The founding congress took place in Prague in July 1908,[9] the second was held in Sofia in July 1910. [10] Two other, less formal, gatherings of Neo-Slav activists were held in St Petersburg in May 1909 and February 1910.[11] Despite this activity, the movement made little progress before dissipating in the wake of the Bosnian crisis and subsequent Balkan Wars and the First World War.[5] It also suffered from the differences between various Slavic groups, with antagonism between Poles and Ukrainians, between different Balkans nations, and lack of support from those nations for either Austria-Hungary and Russia.[3][7] The movement declared itself apolitical, but it was nonetheless viewed with suspicion by Austro-Hungarian officials.[6]

One of the few effects of the movement was the creation of the Federation of Slavic Sokols (the Sokol movement was highly supportive of Neo-Slavism).[12]

Characteristics

Neo-Slavism aimed to build a barrier against German expansion, reliant on Russia.[7][13] Germany was seen as a threat due to its Germanization policies, and slow but steady expansion of influence over the Slavic lands.[3] Compared to Pan-Slavism, seen as subservient to the Russian interests, instead of a Russian dominance over all the Slavs advocated by Pan-Slavism it aimed at a more balanced federation of Slavic states, which was hoped to emerge from a reformed Austria-Hungary.[8][14][15][16][17] It has also been described as a final evolution of Austro-Slavism.[8] Outside of Austria it aimed at reconciliation between Poles and Russians, with Russian neo-slavists declaring their support to recreation of independent Poland, while Polish neoslavists accepted that reconciliation was needed to counter the German threat.[2] Russian Neoslavs were interested, among others, in fostering equal relations between the nations of the Russian Empire, creating a constitutional-liberal system, and by doing so modernizing Russia; their overall views were non-expansionistic, and pursued a balance of power in Europe against increasing German power.[18]

Notable thinkers of the movement included Roman Dmowski, a Pole, and Karel Kramář, a Czech.[3][5]

While Neo-Slavism was short-lived, it has nonetheless been described as having exerted significant influence on inter-Slavic politics of the period.[8]

See also

References
  1. http://hsozkult.geschichte.hu-berlin.de/rezensionen/89.pdf einen kurzlebigen Neoslavismus (der eine demokratische Gemeinschaft slavischer Voelker, frei von russischen Vormachtsanspruechen, forderte); Golczewski, Frank; Pickhan, Gertrud: Russischer Nationalismus. Die russische Idee im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert. Darstellung und Texte. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 1998. ISBN 3-525-01371-X; 308 S. Rezensiert von: Alexander Martin, Oglethorpe University
  2. Astrid S. Tuminez (2000). Russian Nationalism Since 1856: Ideology and the Making of Foreign Policy. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 125. ISBN 978-0-8476-8884-5.
  3. William Fiddian Reddaway (1971). The Cambridge History of Poland. CUP Archive. pp. 405–. GGKEY:2G7C1LPZ3RN. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  4. Astrid S. Tuminez (2000). Russian Nationalism Since 1856: Ideology and the Making of Foreign Policy. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 125–126. ISBN 978-0-8476-8884-5.
  5. Joseph L. Wieczynski (1994). The Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet History. Academic International Press. p. 146. ISBN 978-0-87569-064-3. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  6. Pieter M. Judson; Marsha L. Rozenblit (1 January 2005). Constructing Nationalities in East Central Europe. Berghahn Books. p. 128. ISBN 978-1-57181-176-9. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  7. Oskar Krejčí (2005). Geopolitics of the Central European Region: The View from Prague and Bratislava. Lulu.com. p. 192. ISBN 978-80-224-0852-3. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  8. Paul Vyšný (January 1977). Neo-Slavism and the Czechs, 1898-1914. Cambridge University Press. p. 248. ISBN 978-0-521-21230-4. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  9. Jednání 1. Přípravného slovanského sjezdu v Praze 1908, Prague, 1910.
  10. Vtori podgotovitelen Slavyanski săbor v Sofiya, Sofia, 1911
  11. Vyšný, Paul, Neo-Slavism and the Czechs, 1898-1914, Cambridge, 1977, pp. 145-163, 170-177
  12. Pieter M. Judson; Marsha L. Rozenblit (1 January 2005). Constructing Nationalities in East Central Europe. Berghahn Books. pp. 128–132. ISBN 978-1-57181-176-9. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  13. Walicki, A. (1 December 1999). "The Troubling Legacy of Roman Dmowski". East European Politics & Societies. 14 (1): 12–46. doi:10.1177/0888325400014001002., p.28
  14. Clark University (Worcester, Mass.). (1940). Abstracts of Dissertations and Theses. p. 100. Retrieved 24 September 2013. Neo-Slavism was a mild form of Pan-Slavism and visualized a federation of Slavic States in place of the former Pan-Slavic ideal of Russian dominance over all the Slavs
  15. Hans Kohn (1960). Pan-Slavism: its history and ideology. Vintage Books. p. 247. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  16. Astrid S. Tuminez (2000). Russian Nationalism Since 1856: Ideology and the Making of Foreign Policy. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 160. ISBN 978-0-8476-8884-5. The Czechs and their neoslav compatriots hoped to transform Austria-Hungary into a genuine federation with equal rights for all nationalities
  17. Anthony D'Agostino (2011). The Russian Revolution, 1917-1945. ABC-CLIO. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-313-38622-0. Neo-slavism did not repeat the old Pan-Slav appeal for the unity of the Slavs under the Tsar but called instead for a federation of constitutional Slavic states
  18. Astrid S. Tuminez (2000). Russian Nationalism Since 1856: Ideology and the Making of Foreign Policy. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 126. ISBN 978-0-8476-8884-5.

Further reading

professor Antoni Giza:

  • Neoslawizm i Polacy 1906-1910, Szczecin 1984
  • Petersburskie konferencje neoslawistów 1909-1910 r. i ich znaczenie dla ruchu słowiańskiego, **"Przegląd Zachodniopomorski", 1982
  • "Walka o ideowo-polityczne oblicze rosyjskiego neoslawizmu w latach 1906-1910", "Slavia Orientalis", 1983, nr 3
  • "Warszawskie środowisko neoslawistów 1906-1910", "Przegląd Zachodniopomorski", 1985, nr 1/2
  • "Neoslawiści wobec obchodów grunwaldzkich w Krakowie w 1910 r. [w:] Tradycja Grunwaldzka, cz. I, pod red. J. Maternickiego, Warszawa 1989
  • Miejsce i rola Polski w wizji rosyjskich panslawistów II połowy XIX wieku i neoslawistów z początków XX wieku, "Acta Polono-Ruthenica", t. 2 (1997)
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