Meanings
- historicalrareuncountableAn 19th-century intellectual ideology which saw Russia's development as dependent upon the adoption of Western European technology and liberal government.
In general, however, this leftist wing of zapadnichestvo became more Russian in character , and offered a more original interpretation of Russia's path of development than the liberal versions.
1999, Jeremy Smith, “Beyond the Limits: The Concept of Space in Russian History and Culture”, in Studia historica, volume 62, SHS, →ISSN, page 181 more example
According to the spiritual father of zapadnichestvo in the early nineteenth century, Pyotr Chaadaev, Russia had in no way participated in the development of humankind, and it had merely distorted everything that had been elft over from the progress achieved elsewhere.
2012, Christer Pursainen, “A Short History of Catching Up”, in Christer Pursainen, editor, At the Crossroads of Post-Communist Modernisation: Russia and China in Comparative Perspective, Springer, →ISBN, page 26Synonyms: Westernism
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn 19th-century intellectual ideology which saw Russia's development as dependent upon the adoption of Western European technology and liberal government.
Origin
- Russianза́падничество
- Englishzapadnichestvo
From Russian за́падничество (západničestvo).
More words from Russian
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian западничество
- западничество (zapadničestvo)19th century ideology
Czech západnictví
- západnictví19th century ideology
French occidentaliste
- occidentaliste19th century ideology
Italian occidentalismo
- occidentalismo19th century ideology
Polish okcydentaliz, zapadniczestwo
- okcydentaliz19th century ideology
- zapadniczestwo19th century ideology
- zapadnictwo19th century ideology
Russian за́падничество
- за́падничество (západničestvo)19th century ideology
Slovak západníctvo
- západníctvo19th century ideology
Swedish zapadnitjestvo
- zapadnitjestvo19th century ideology
Ukrainian за́хідництво
- за́хідництво (záxidnyctvo)19th century ideology
Cite this entry
zapadnichestvo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zapadnichestvo
“zapadnichestvo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zapadnichestvo. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “zapadnichestvo,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zapadnichestvo.
Source: zapadnichestvo on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.