In 2022, Russian Studies in Philosophy (RSP) celebrates its sixtieth anniversary and the current issue completes the anniversary volume of the journal. Launched in 1962 by founding publisher Mike Sharpe as part of a series of Russian translational journals, RSP was conceived as one of the key sources of information about philosophy and philosophical practices in Russia. From the very beginning, RSP aimed at making rich yet not so well known terrains of Russian philosophical thought accessible to Anglophone readers. Even a small group of specialists relatively informed about the then contemporary state of affairs of philosophy in Soviet Russia had trouble navigating materials that were not easily accessible and distinguishing genuine philosophical thought from everything appearing under the rubric of Marxism.
The journal has aided its readers by promoting Russian philosophy of the Silver Age, but also by recognizing the development of original thought in the Soviet period, telling a tragic story of late Soviet philosophy and its struggle against orthodox Marxism. During the entire period of its existence, the journal has unceasingly served not only as a source of invaluable information about Russia’s philosophical thought, but also as a venue for scholarly discussions on a variety of topics central to Russian and global debates in philosophy. While initially RSP only published English translations of scholarly articles that had already appeared in Russian philosophical journals,Footnote1 in 2008 the journal started translating original papers not previously printed elsewhere. During the last fifteen years that coincided with my tenure as the editor of RSP, the journal has published numerous translations of original writings by Russian philosophy scholars, allowing them to promptly communicate their ideas to their Western counterparts and make these ideas instantly accessible to English-language readers. This has created invaluable possibilities for productive scholarly discussions and has promoted substantive dialogues that contributed to advancing philosophical thought, in both Russia and the West. In addition to the publication of original research articles from Russia, the journal launched the well-received series “Contemporary Russian Philosophers,” which has introduced our readers to scholars whose works have shaped the philosophical landscape in the post-Soviet period and who proved to be instrumental in determining directions of research in today’s Russia. In this fifteen-year period, the journal substantially expanded its scope to include a broad spectrum of the existing and new areas of philosophical research in Russia, thus making them accessible to an international community. That has been an exciting time for all of us involved in the study of Russian philosophy and in the field of Russian studies in general.
Over the six decades of the journal’s presence in the philosophical arena, it has been managed and guided by outstanding scholars whose research has shaped the entire field of Russian philosophy as an object of study in the United States and other countries. Many key figures within numerous areas of Anglophone Slavic studies served on the journal’s board and through their own scholarly engagements significantly contributed to its success. Among previous editors and board members, the most prolific figures are George Kline (1921–2014) and James Scanlan (1927–2016). Prominent specialists in Russian and Soviet philosophy, Kline and Scanlan were instrumental in promoting Russian philosophy, literature, and culture in the Anglophone world and in helping RSP to become an authoritative scholarly venue, as well as a reliable source of information about philosophy and philosophical thought in Russia, as the journal came to be widely recognized today.
For sixty years, RSP has promoted the value and continuing relevance of Russian philosophical thought and stimulated interest in Russia and Russian intellectual culture throughout changing trends in world politics and a history of rocky relations between Western countries and Russia. The journal’s readership has steadily grown over all these years, signaling the need for and interest in Russian philosophical thought and its key topics. In response to strong, continued support from our readers, the journal has expanded its content; its release frequency and circulation also increased. Over these decades, the journal has undoubtedly achieved significant results and made many accomplishments to be proud of, in spite of not always favorable conditions.
However, the present anniversary, which one would expect to be a bright event in the history of the journal, turned out to be overshadowed by the recent decision of Taylor & Francis to discontinue the Russian translation journals starting in January 2023. When communicating its cancelation announcement, the publisher called it a business decision, explained by changing priorities within the company, which is no longer interested in publishing largely unsustainable translation journals. Although Taylor & Francis maintains that the decision to suspend the production of the Russian translation journals has not been motivated by the current political situation, there are reasonable grounds to suspect that contemporary politics and increasing calls to boycott Russian culture have had an impact on the decision. In any event, current political developments involving Russia have surely not helped, and the journals have come to be discontinued when they are most needed.
Ironically, when the Russian translational journals were launched in the late 1950s and early 1960s,Footnote2 the world was living through another politically challenging time. While the Khrushchev Thaw had made the translation journal enterprise feasible, the intensification of Cold War tensions closed the door to direct exchanges, collaborative projects, and other forms of scholarly interaction, creating serious barriers for those studying Russia. And when almost all intellectual and cultural contacts with Russia came to a halt, the translation journals served as a critical bridge between Russian and Western scholarly communities, supplying information and making Russian thought appealing to an Anglophone audience. The Gorbachev era’s glasnost and democratization of the Soviet political system, which largely persisted into the post-Soviet years, opened up new possibilities for this translation journal and others, while also creating new challenges, mostly pertaining to economic factors, as well as the expansion of the Internet and online resources. Nonetheless, these last decades produced innumerable opportunities for international scholarly engagement and cooperation.
For now, however, the possibilities for advancing joint scholarly projects with Russia and Russian scholars have dimmed, particularly since February 24, 2022. The doors for philosophical exchange and collaboration are closing once again, and again for political reasons. Under such conditions, discontinuing the journal not only makes it hard to keep information and communication channels alive, but it also threatens to squander opportunities for dialogue. This Afterword is not an appropriate place to go into details about the historical roots and reasons of the current Russia/Ukraine war. It is impossible to accept the brutality of Russia’s aggression and it is difficult to imagine the tragedy that this war brings to the people of Ukraine and their country. There is no doubt, however, that the war is costing Russia too, and not only economically. The war has dramatically worsened the relationship between Russia and the West and widened the cultural divide, isolating Moscow and separating Russia from the rest of the world. At a time when war rages, academics may end up finding themselves on different sides of the conflict and in deep disagreement about how to interpret the terrible events and the tragedy that is unrolling before our eyes. Without denying these realities, however, it is our responsibility as academics and humanities scholars to maintain venues of communication and debate across lines of conflict. Right now, it is difficult, if at all possible, to look beyond the war. However, it is crucial to never lose sight of the future, and in this regard, the only hope is to restore mutual respect, as well as to reestablish and reinforce intercultural dialogue. We are living through desperate times, and engagement with Russia and its intellectual history and culture was never as important and urgently needed as now. Cultural connections bring people together when political means fail, and culture should remain a bridge and a way of keeping dialogue open when politics proves impotent.
When it comes to Russian intellectual and cultural achievements, its philosophy and philosophically centered literature move to the forefront as the most cultured reflections that depict the influence of Russia’s major cultural and social trends. This makes the study of Russian philosophy and philosophical literature crucial for understanding Russia and its ways of thinking.
The dialogue between Russian and Western philosophy scholars should continue with no interruptions. It is crucial to maintain the existing channels of communication and to support productive exchanges with the aim of developing new constructive conversations capable of creating new meanings. The dialogic nature of relations is essential in constituting the semantic world of each intellectual culture, and this applies to both Russian and Western cultural traditions. Only through dialogue will we be able to achieve mutual understanding and confidence.
Fortunately, Taylor & Francis will retain and—through its online platform—make available the back volumes of Studies in Russian Philosophy, along with other translational journals, thus providing an enduring resource for study of the philosophical and generally intellectual creativity and achievements of Russia’s thought. Still, the closing of our journal will negatively affect scholars working on Russian philosophy, in both Russia and the Anglophone world, depleting them of valuable information and inspirational ideas often born out of scholarly discussions and productive conversations.
To move forward, I will think of continuing the work of the journal in some other forms. For now, one such option is publishing thematic issues and clusters of articles in Studies in East European Thought, a philosophical journal that—among the other countries and regions it covers—also welcomes discussions on the philosophical thought of Russia. There are some other plans and ideas, and I hope our readers will support the relevant initiatives.
Thus, instead of saying “goodbye” to our readers, I hope that we can stay the course together and look for new forms of philosophical engagement with Russia. We should keep the doors for dialogue open and acknowledge that Russia's cultural and intellectual legacy is part of our own collective past and future, and we need to engage with and appreciate it.
Notes
1. The journal has cooperated with the best Russian scholarly periodicals in philosophy, such as Voprosy Filosofii [Question of Philosophy], Filosofskie nauki [Philosophical Sciences], Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria Philosophiia [The Herald of Moscow University. Series: Philosophy], and a few others.
2. Problem of Economics and Soviet Education was the first journal in the series of the Russian translation journals launched in 1958. The journal in philosophy, as well as titles in anthropology, history, law, literary studies, political science, psychology, and sociology, followed only a couple of years later.