The Slavophiles and the Pochvennichestvo supported the complete emancipation of serfs, stressed a strong desire to return to the idealised past of Russian history, and opposed Europeanization.
They also advocated a complete rejection of the nihilist, classical liberal and Marxist movements of the time.
The Slavophiles and the Pochvennichestvo differed in that the former detested the Westernisation policies of Emperor Peter the Great (r. 1682–1725), but the latter praised what they saw as the benefits of the notorious ruler who maintained a strong patriotic mentality for what became sloganised under Emperor Nicholas I (r. 1825–1855) as "Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality".
Another major difference was that many of the leaders of Pochvennichestvo and their supporters adopted a militant anti-Protestant, anti-Catholic and antisemitic stance.
The movement had its roots in the works of the German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder (1744-1803), who focused primarily on emphasising the differences between peoples and regional cultures.