Abstract

This paper is an examination of the ideas of the Russian philosopher and literary critic N. Strakhov’s , expressed in his article The Fateful Question . In this paper he contended that the conflict between Poland and the Russian Empire has not been just a „Polish mutiny” but a „conflict of civilizations”. Strakhov also pointed out that the conflicts of civilizations are being provoked by the idea of „cultural mission” or by the desire of some European nations to impose their cultural values on other nations. By pointing out to the fact the idea of the conflict of civilizations was used later by many thinkers, from N. Danilevsky to S. Huntington, the author emphasizes the striking pertinence of Strakhov’s ideas to the problems and issues of our contemporaneity. Key words CONFLICT OF CIVILISATIONS, CULTURAL VALUES