ABSTRACT
Although it is possible to identity a rich indigenous Slavic pre-science (Ryan 1999), this chapter directs the reader to a range of sources and themes that apply to Russia’s role in the emergence of natural philosophy and in shaping the development of technology closely related to the Russian state. From a Russian vantage point, “literature and science” has a particular Western stamp often associated with C.P. Snow’s commentary on the “two cultures.” Given the multifaceted force of both literature and science, Russia provides a rich setting from which to approach their conjunction.
