Poles, Jesuits, Jews, and The "Conspiracy Myth": The Evolution of The "Dangerous Other" in Slavophilia

In this article, we examine only a small subject from the multifaceted history of conspiracy myths - their reflection and, at the same, their formation in Slavophile opinion pieces. Preferred attention is given to the period of the 1860s through the mid-1880s, i.e., "late Slavophilia," as it is during this time, on the one hand, that the majority of Slavophile opinion pieces were published, and on the other hand, it was at this same time that conspiracy myths, first Jesuit and then Jewish, were applied directly in Russian reality. The myth of the "Jewish conspiracy" is interpreted simultaneously as both irrational and as a reaction to the aporia within the framework of the Slavophile nation-building. The problem's aporia led to an increase in the affective component, which ultimately led to phobic ideas - i.e., the irrational plan itself. Thus, the irrational fear was derived not only from the rational, but also from the modern challenge itself.