Review on: Provincializing Europe by D. Chakrabarty, Moscow: Gаrаzh, 2021. 384 p.

Abstract. The review focuses on the work of the postcolonial Indian researcher, Professor in history of the University of Chicago Dipesh Chakrabarty “Provincializing Europe”, first published in Russian. The monograph is devoted to the critic of historicism as a universalist approach that arose under the influence of the ideas of the Enlightenment and became an integral tool of European modernity. Chakrabarty shows how historicism puts the subalterns (primarily the peoples of the former colonies) in a subordinate position, forming ideas about their backwardness and inferiority. On the example of K. Marx’s Capital, Chakrabarty criticizes the idea of a “common” history based on the concepts of equality, collective agreement, civil society, etc. Instead, he proposes to consider history from the point of view of the multivariance of its development. The review analyzes the structure of the book, emphasizes the main conclusions made by the author, notes the importance of this work for Russian researchers working with the use of postcolonial and decolonial optics.

Keywords: postcolonial theory, Dipesh Chakrabarty, imperialism, colonialism, decolonization, India, historicism.