History as Spirit: Can we understand it?

History as Spirit: Can we understand it?

"The remark next in order is, that each particular National genius is to be treated as only One Individual in the process of Universal History. For that history is the exhibition of the divine, absolute development of Spirit in its highest forms--that gradation by which it attains its truth and consciousness of itself" (53).

Hegel's comments related to "great men" or "National geniuses" in history are interesting when viewed in relation to Tolstoy's criticism of the "great man". While Hegel does not seem to completely obliterate the importance of "National geniuses" as Tolstoy does, he certainly does emphasize that they are only important in that they are related to the historical process as a whole. Regardless of how Hegel's views on the "great man" relate to Tolstoy's, I am primarily interested in whether Hegel believes that we can grasp or understanding the meaning of history in some capacity. Obviously, Tolstoy is very skeptical about our ability to understand history. Does Hegel's description of history as an "exhibition of the divine, absolute development of Spirit" likewise imply that we are unable to fully understand it?