Views of Westernizers and Slavophiles.

Westerners considered it necessary to abolish serfdom, recognized the Western European path of development as the most acceptable for Russia. They considered it necessary to liquidate the peasant community as a relic of the past. Most Westerners were noble landowners, there were also commoners and merchants.

Slavophiles, on the other hand, considered Russia to be an original state that followed a special path and did not need an example from the West. On the contrary, Russia, in their opinion, can serve as an example for Western European countries. They considered the peasant community to be the basis of a special Russian path and considered it necessary to preserve it.