Commemorating Jubilee of Jan Hus in Russian Empire: Preconditions, History, Cultural Context.

Abstract

The brief report on the activities of the St. Petersburg Slavic Charitable Committee for the year 1869 includes a record that society members discussed the celebration of the 500th anniversary of Jan Hus and established a prize for an essay on the Czech religious figure. The inclusion of Hus in the list of “jubilarians” worthy of honor not only highlights the significance of this religious thinker for the Slavic world but also touches upon certain political aspects of Russian history. The article analyzes the reasons for the Russian public's attention to Hus’s persona, provides a characterization of the views of Russian intellectuals at the time of the contest announcement regarding the legacy of the Czech religious figure, and presents reflections on how the proposal to support Jan Hus’s 500th jubilee aligns with the tradition of honoring cultural figures in the Russian Empire by the mid-19th century. The material draws from both published documents and sources not yet introduced into scholarly circulation. The motives behind honoring Jan Hus's legacy are seen in the acknowledgment by the chairman of the St. Petersburg branch of the committee, Gilferding, of the Orthodox foundations of the Czech reformer’s teachings, deeming it possible to use Hus celebrations as a lever of influence on Czech society and advance the idea of political and religious unity among all Slavic branches in Orthodox faith.

Keywords

• slavophiles
• jan hus
• czech republic
• jubilee culture
• prize for an essay on jan hus
• slavic committee
• gilferding