My intellectual path began not in libraries but in the lived experience of the Soviet Union. I belong to the third Soviet generation — a generation uniquely separated from any continuous religious tradition. Growing up in this environment meant living in an existential vacuum, suspended in a space where inherited frameworks of meaning had been erased. That early experience of “hanging in a semantic void” shaped the questions that have guided me ever since.
It was this absence — not a presence — that led me to the study of religion and philosophy. I wanted to understand how human beings orient themselves when the usual sources of meaning have been stripped away. Over time, this search became my profession. For more than thirty years, I have taught the history of religions and philosophy at American universities, exploring how different cultures and traditions have grappled with the same questions that confronted my own generation.
My intellectual style was shaped by both worlds. From the Soviet experience, I inherited a sensitivity to the fragility of meaning and the human need for orientation. From the American intellectual tradition, I learned the value of clarity, directness, and analytical precision — the discipline of explaining complex ideas in simple, accessible terms. This combination defines my approach: to speak “simply about the complex,” not by simplifying the subject, but by respecting the reader.
I also hold a conviction that philosophy is not a science. In antiquity, philosophy was a way of life — a practical guide to living well. I see my work as an attempt to restore the vitality, usefulness, and even the necessity of philosophical reflection, especially for people who are not professional philosophers or theologians, but who are searching for meaning in their own lives.
Today, after decades of academic work, I am increasingly turning to a broader public. Through writing, lectures, interviews, and digital media, I explore how a reflective, historically aware form of religious and philosophical consciousness might look today. My aim is to offer a mode of thought that is intellectually grounded yet accessible, historically informed yet personally meaningful — a way of thinking that helps us face the challenges of our time without surrendering the possibility of meaning.