<p>This article explores Ivan Kireyevsky’s articulation of Russian singularity (<i>osobennost’</i>) in his 1852 text “On the Character of Enlightenment in Europe and Its Relation to Enlightenment in Russia.” Kireyevsky was among the first Slavophiles to systematically define Russianness (<i>russkost’</i>) as a unique ontological category that separates Russia from European modernity. This paper examines his method of defining Russian distinctiveness by contrasting it with Europe. Through a close reading of Kireyevsky’s text, the study critically engages with his conceptual choices and clarifies his understanding of both Russian singularity and European history. The article concludes that Kireyevsky rejects European universalism as a counterfeit double of the one true universalism grounded in Russianness. Building on the implications of his analysis, this paper argues that Kireyevsky sees in Europe not merely Russia’s conceptual other, but the Antichrist.</p>