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Nikolay Nikolayevich Strakhov, also transliterated asNikolai Strahov (Russian:Никола́й Никола́евич Стра́хов; 16 October 1828 – 24 January 1896) was a Russianphilosopher,publicist,journalist andliterary critic. He shared the ideals ofPochvennichestvo and was a longtime friend and correspondent ofLeo Tolstoy.[1]
Strakhov was born inBelgorod, Kursk Governorate in a priest family. After leaving St Petersburg University (unable to afford the fees), in 1851 Strakhov graduated fromSaint Petersburg'sMain Pedagogical Institute, after which he taught for one year inOdessa, followed by nine years' teaching at agymnasium in Saint Petersburg.[2] In 1861, Strakhov became a prominent publicist and literary critic. Strakhov worked on the literary journalsTime andEpoch together withFyodor Dostoyevsky andApollon Grigoryev. He became one of the very few close friends of Leo Tolstoy.
In the 1870s Nikolay Strakhov wrote his most famous philosophical workWorld as a Whole and was among the first (if not the first) to recognize Tolstoy'sWar and Peace as one of the world's greatest novels. Nikolay Strakhov was also one of the most prominent opponents ofLiberalism,Rationalism andUtilitarianism in Russia, who contributed greatly to the development of traditionalistSlavophile ideology and its more conservative and nationalist variant known asPochvennichestvo. In 1883 Nikolay Strakhov wroteThe Struggle Against the West in Russian Literature and supported ideas ofNikolay Danilevsky and claimed that Western European rationalism lacks scientific grounds.
Nikolay Strakhov supported and encouraged the youngVasily Rozanov to become a writer and philosopher. Despite his conservatism and support for official government ideology ofOrthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality he was at times criticized by pro-government publications such asMikhail Katkov'sMoskovskie Vedomosti. Russian liberals bitterly resented Strakhov and considered him areactionary philosopher.
Strakhov died in Saint Petersburg in 1896; he never married[3] and had no children.
