CHAADAEV AND THE PRINCIPLE OF UNITY

In presenting a somber image of Russia in his 'Philosophical letter' and in solutions he offered, Chaadaev was motivated by the idea of universal unity: spiritual unity of all nations that resulted from the idea of cosmic unity, which, in turn, resulted from the idea of a providential God, the creator of all things and caring for His creation. This idea of unity is, philosophically, the most lasting element of Chaadaev's thought and becomes a unifying intellectual framework for other Russian thinkers. The fall disturbed the unity of the universe by giving rise to spatio-temporal world and the unity has to be restored by divine intervention and human cooperation.