Piotr Bitsilli as Theorist of European Unification

Abstract: This article analyzes a little-known essay by Piotr M. Bitsilli of the early 1930s on the past, present and future of European unification. Responding to the so-called “Briand Plan” (1929–1930) and the concept of “Pan-Europe” by R.N. Coudenhove-Kalergi, Bitsilli develops his own vision of a future united Europe, which will be achieved through the transformation of European nation-states. This transformation, in Bitsilli’s view, will be caused by the liberation of the nation from the domination of the state, turning the nation — and a future “United States of Europe” — into a purely spiritual entity. Bitsilli’s essay represents an important contribution to the largely understudied Russian discussion on the process of European unification that also involved a variety of other authors: from politicians, such as V.I. Lenin and L.D. Trotsky, to jurists, such as Ia.A. Novikov and A.A. Goldenweizer.

Keywords: Piotr M. Bitsilli, Pan-Europe, Briand Plan, European Unification, Russian emigration, nation, state, religion.

Information about the author: Martin E. Beisswenger, PhD, Associate Professor, School of History, Faculty of Humanities, Higher School of Economics, Staraya Basmannaya St. 21/4, 105066 Moscow, Russia.

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5582-9276

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For citation: Beisswenger, Martin E. “Piotr Bitsilli as Theorist of European Unification.” Emigrantica. Issue 2: Piotr M. Bitsilli and the Humanities of the Russia Abroad, comp. M.A. Vasilieva, sci. ed. M.A. Vasilieva and A.V. Bakuntsev, ed. M.S. Shchavlinskii, D.V. Zaitsev. Moscow, IWL RAS Publ., 2024, pp. 345–366. (In Russian) https://doi.org/10.22455/Emigr.3034-3518-2024-2-345-366

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Received: 31 July 2021
Approved after reviewing: January 24, 2022
Date of publication: December 26, 2024

Piotr Bitsilli as Theorist of European Unification

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