FREEDOM, THE IDEA OF FATHERLAND AND NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE. THE IMAGE OF SOUTHERN SLAVIC PEOPLES IN THE WRITINGS OF GIUSEPPE MAZZINI

Abstract

Between the end of the 1830s and the beginning of the 1860s, the condition of the Southern Slavs was thoroughly analysed by Giuseppe Mazzini, who strongly believed in a necessary and close connection between the aspiration for unity and independence of peoples subject to foreign domination and the founding principle of nationality. Mazzini's ideas, which originated from his general pro-European vision and, in particular, from his specific interest in the history and expression of the individual Southern Slavic cultures, focused, especially in the 1850s, on the role of the Russian Empire. This paper aims to compare, as far as the Southern Slavic question is concerned, Mazzini's political vision, with reference to his writings, in particular the "Slavic Letters" with the debate animated by Russian Panslavism through the writings by contemporary Russian historians, such as Aleksandr Pypin and Michail Pogodin.

Keywords

• Giuseppe Mazzini, Southern Slavs, Balcans, Russian Empire, panslavism.