Nikolai Berdyaev (1874-1948), was a Russian philosopher, theologian, and statesman of religious-political orientation. He was known for his staunch defense of traditional Christian values in the light of the modern age. Berdyaev came from a family of Russian Orthodox priests, and he inherited from them a deep faith in God and the honor of serving the people. His father was one of the most devoted members of the Holy Synod, which carried on its work after dominating Russian social life in the seventeenth century
Read more
His mother was a daughter of a notable old noble family. Berdyaev's interest in science began when he was still a young boy, when he built a model airplane out of wood and tissue paper. In 1882 Nikolai entered high school in Odessa, in 1883 he entered university in Kiev, where he studied physics under Grigory Perelman, mathematics under Vladimir Markov and philosophy under Ivan Kireevsky.
After his philosophy studies at Kiev University concluded with honors, Berdyaev left for Germany to study at the University of Berlin under Friedrich Paulsen and Adolf von Harnack. He graduated from Berlin with distinction in Philosophy and Letters. In 1900 he entered the Theological Faculty at St.
Petersburg University where he studied theology with Alexander Kazhdan and philosophy with Alexander Khomyakov and Gregory Khomiakov. He graduated from St. Petersburg with honors in 1902, receiving his doctorate in Theology for a dissertation entitled "The Problem of Man's Life After Death." The same year Berdyaev returned to Kiev University to teach moral science and became familiar with all branches of education including pedagogy, psychology, philology and history.
During this time Berdyaev also published two essays: "The Meaning of Freedom" (1901) and "The Idea of Love" (1904). In 1905 Berdyaev began working as an editor at the newly created newspaper Vestnik Evropy ("World News") where he published articles on contemporary scientific topics such as: "Is It Possible to Discover New Elements," "The Chemical Possibilities," "The Theory of Relativity," etc., which caused him to be accused by some critics as an agitator who promoted ideas against traditional morality. His political views were quite diverse; while having strong convictions against Marxism Berdyaev did not shun the influence of Socialism on his thought such as many other believers such as Vladimir Solovyov
