This the first in-depth and comprehensive book-length study of the Russian neo-Kantian
movement in English language challenges the assumption of the isolation of neo-Kantianism to
Germany. The present investigation demonstrates that neo-Kantianism had an international
dimension by showing the emergence of a parallel movement in Imperial Russia spanning its
emergence in the late 19th century to its gradual dissolution in the aftermath of the Bolshevik
Revolution. The author presents a systematic portrait of the development of Russian
neo-Kantianism starting with its rise as a philosophy of science. However it was with the
stream of young students returning to Imperial Russia after a period of study at German
universities that the movement accelerated. More often than not these enthusiastic young
philosophers returned home imbued with the neo-Kantianism of their respective but divergent
host institutions. As a result clashes were inevitable concerning the proper approach to
philosophical issues as well as the very understanding of Kant's philosophy and his legacy for
contemporary thought. In the end the broad promise of a Western-oriented neo-Kantianism could
not withstand the pressures it confronted on all sides.
