Судан и Большой Ближний Восток

176 II. Россия — Восток The evolution of society in Russia as such has come a long way from hopes and reflections about the fate of the Fatherland, dating back to the rise of the popularity of philosophical studies, to the heyday of the movement of Slavophiles and Westerners, which arose in public circles (mainly the urban intelligentsia) as a response to the reactionary policies of Nicholas I. This path ran no less through disappointment with bureaucracy and censorship, the inertia of thinking of those in power, “officialdom”. Disappointment led to the realization of the inevitable need for change. Ultimately, both patriots and liberals found themselves shoulder to shoulder in the ranks of the opposition to the ruling dynasty. An abyss opened up between the sovereign and society, which was impossible to fill, because the will to constructive actions within the state was lost. “<…> the majority of the Russian volunteers were young men who sin- cerely wanted to support what they considered a righteous cause, but many also felt a romantic desire for military glory, hoped for fame, wanted to test and assert their courage, and simply to experience the exotic adventure of "wild Africa", so much spoken about in Europe. For some Africa was understandably also an escape from the dreary routine of military drill, from the domineering spirit of Russian bureaucracy, and the strains, tensions and unattractiveness of a rapidly growing Russian capitalism”. 1 Thus, the Russian volunteer movement can be considered as an alternative, or a compromise between the revolutionary impulses of the noble youth and criticism of the students, the cautious philosophical speculations of the intelligentsia, wise with life experience, and the extreme radicalism of representatives of society who advocated the reign of terror. The location of the action became blurred and lost its significance over time. The active phase of Russian volunteerism quite understand- ably occurred in the period following the defeat in the Crimean War and, as a consequence, a series of events in southern Europe. The 1 Davidson A., Filatova I. The Russians and the Anglo-Boer War 1899–1902. P. 60–61.