Ivan Vasilyevich Kireyevsky, born on March 22 (April 3) 1806 in Moscow and died on June 11 (23) 1856 in St. Petersburg, was a renowned Russian religious philosopher, literary critic, and publicist, as well as one of the leading theorists of Slavophilism.

Kireyevsky came from a family of hereditary nobles from the Tula province's Belevsky district. His father, Vasily Ivanovich Kireyevsky, managed the Orlov hospital, where wounded Russian and French soldiers were treated, and died of typhus when Ivan was six years old. In 1814, the poet V. A. Zhukovsky, a close relative of Ivan's mother, Avdotya Petrovna, came to their ancestral estate Dolbino. Zhukovsky spent almost two years there, trying to educate Ivan and his brother Peter, but he was unable to fully realize this intention. Nevertheless, a strong bond was established between Zhukovsky and the brothers, and his patriotic spirit and literary advice had a significant influence on Kireyevsky. By the age of ten, Ivan had read the best works of Russian and French literature and by twelve he was proficient in German.

In 1822, the family moved to Moscow, where the Kireyevsky brothers studied under the best professors at Moscow University. In 1823, Ivan began working at the Moscow Archive of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs and became one of the 'archive youths' who organized the Society of Philomaths. However, after the Decembrist uprising in 1825, the society was dissolved.

In the autumn of 1829, Kireyevsky proposed to the girl he loved but was rejected. In early 1830, he went to Germany, where he attended lectures by Hegel in Berlin and Schelling in Munich. He viewed Hegel as a rationalist and a follower of Aristotle, contrasting him with the Russian worldview based on feeling and Orthodox faith.

Returning to Russia in 1830 due to a cholera epidemic in Moscow, Kireyevsky began publishing the magazine 'Evropeets' in 1832, which was banned after its third issue due to the article 'The Nineteenth Century.' In 1834, he married Natalia Petrovna Arbenyeva.

In the 1840s, Kireyevsky sought a philosophy chair at Moscow University but was considered unreliable. Together with the elders of Optina Monastery, he worked on publishing the writings of the Church Fathers. In 1852, the Slavophiles began publishing the 'Moscow Collection,' where Kireyevsky published an article that displeased the authorities, leading to the magazine's cessation. In his final years, he worked on a course in philosophy.

Kireyevsky died of cholera in 1856 and was buried in Optina Monastery. That same year, his posthumous article 'On the Possibility and Necessity of New Beginnings for Philosophy' was published, along with his works in two volumes.

At the beginning of his career, Kireyevsky showed interest in Western ideas, but soon his views shifted towards mysticism and Slavophilism. The central idea of his philosophy was the integrity of spiritual life, which allows one to avoid the false choice between ignorance and rationalism. Kireyevsky believed that only a change in fundamental beliefs and philosophy could fundamentally alter the situation. He linked the birth of new thinking with a general shift in public consciousness and the education of society, rather than with the construction of systems. According to him, the integrity of the spirit is achieved through faith and asceticism, as well as through a return to mystical experience to overcome original sin.