S.L. Frank and the Russian Scientific Institute in Berlin

Abstract

The article presents the history of foundation of the Russian Scientific Institute in Berlin based on German archival materials and periodicals of the 1920s–1930s. The role of the Germans in the institutionalization, as well as the importance of the Institute in the creative biography of S.L. Frank have been analyzed. Special attention is paid to the lecture courses of the Russian philosopher, which were given at the Russian Scientific Institute in Berlin. It is emphasized that with the work of S.L. Frank an appeal was introduced to the study of the problems of Russian thought and spiritual culture, which in general was not common for the philosopher in the preemigrant period. Thus, the Institute provided to S.L. Frank the institutional legitimation of research, which partly corresponded to the aspirations and expectations of the German side that participated in the foundation of the Russian Scientific Institute in Berlin. In the appendix archival materials – transcripts of four lectures of the philosopher under the general theme “Modern trends in philosophy”, given under the auspices of the Institute in late 1928 – early 1929 and stored in the Bakhmetev Archives of Columbia University (New York, USA) are also published.