ABSTRACT
When in the summer of 1844 Iu. F. Samarin entered government service at the age of twenty-four, he in effect deprived himself of the possibility of an academic career. This decision, made under paternal pressure, did not preclude scholarly research, however; nor did it discourage him from high-quality publicistic work, which, Belinsky quickly recognized in Samarin’s review of Tarantas. Ivan Aksakov, who was himself in government service, was particularly sympathetic. While in the summer of 1844 Samarin could have had only a partial picture of the Slavophil attitude toward government service, he did not want to be part of the government. On May 8, 1846, Smirnova wrote to Gogol’ that Samarin’s “situation is most difficult. He serves in the government on his father’s wishes, and with the horrible conviction that he will accomplish nothing for Russia.” The Slavophils, with good reason, were resentful and uneasy, but they were still patriotic Russians who had faith in the principle of a nobler autocracy.
