Vekhi: A Collection of Articles on the Russian Intelligentsia

It’s not around the creators of new noise—around the creators of new values that the world revolves; it turns soundlessly.

Fr. Nietzsche. “Thus Spoke Zarathustra”

The collection “Vekhi” (published shortly after the revolutionary events of 1905–1907) made a powerful impression on all of Russia and sparked controversy that surpassed in intensity even the discussion of the most scandalous works of art.

Seven outstanding philosophers and publicists, including a jurist and an economist.

Seven articles.

And the main question:

What is the phenomenon of the Russian intelligentsia?

The authors were accused of throwing poisonous seeds into Russian society, while for some the book became a real celebration. Others condemned the collection as a “stream of reactionary filth,” and the most far-sighted predicted that “Vekhi” would be remembered in the history of Russian public life.

And so, a century later, it turns out that the conversation begun by the “vekhists” has not exhausted itself and, in one form or another, continues to this day.