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''Beseda'' ( rus, Беседа, p=bʲɪˈsʲedə, a=Ru-беседа.ogg, t=debate) was a clandestine discussion circle consisting of
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
"
zemstvo
A ''zemstvo'' ( rus, земство, p=ˈzʲɛmstvə, plural ''zemstva'' – rus, земства) was an institution of local government set up during the great emancipation reform of 1861 carried out in Imperial Russia by Emperor Alexande ...
men", among them prominent and grand names of the
Russian aristocracy
The Russian nobility (russian: дворянство ''dvoryanstvo'') originated in the 14th century. In 1914 it consisted of approximately 1,900,000 members (about 1.1% of the population) in the Russian Empire.
Up until the February Revolution ...
.
[Figes, p. 165] The
intelligentsia discussion group was formed in the wake of resumed persecution of the zemstvos after increased liberties during the
Russian famine of 1891–92
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
.
Beseda was formed in November 1899 and gathered 3 or 4 times a year. Founders of the circle were
Dmitry Shakhovskoy
Prince Dmitry Ivanovich Shakhovskoy (1861, Pushkin, Saint Petersburg, Tsarskoye Selo – 1939, Moscow) was a Russian liberal politician.
Life
Active participant in zemstvo congresses, 1904–1905; one of the organizers of the Union of Liberatio ...
,
Pavel Dolgorukov
Prince Pavel Dmitrievich Dolgorukov (russian: Князь Па́вел Дми́триевич Долгору́ков, tr. ; 1866, Tsarskoye Selo – June 9, 1927) was a Russian landowner and aristocrat who was executed by the Bolsheviks in 1 ...
, and Prince
Sergei Nikolaevich Trubetskoy
Prince Sergei Nikolaevich Trubetskoy (russian: Серге́й Никола́евич Трубецко́й; 4 August Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O._S._23_June.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>O._S._23_June">O ...
. It gradually lost its significance and the last meeting was held in October 1905.
[Kröner, A.W. (1998) "The Debate Between Miliukov and Maklakov on the Chances for Russian Liberalism", p. 23-25] The members, which included among others
Prince Lvov
Lvov (russian: Львов) is the name of a princely Russian family of Rurikid stock. The family is descended from the princes of Yaroslavl where early members of the family are buried.
Notable members
* Knyaz Matvey Danilovich (?–1603), Voiv ...
, met in the palace of the
Princes Dolgorukov in Moscow, and initially restricted discussion strictly to the affairs of the zemstvos. After the persecution of the zemstvos was increased in 1900, when it dismissed several hundreds of liberals from the elected zemstvo boards, the circle was forced to confront political issues and questions.
In the following two years, the Beseda would become the "leading force of the Russian
constitutionalists
Constitutionalism is "a compound of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law".
Political organizations are constitutional ...
movement", with a wide spectrum of public men, from industrial
magnates and
slavophiles
Slavophilia (russian: Славянофильство) was an intellectual movement originating from the 19th century that wanted the Russian Empire to be developed on the basis of values and institutions derived from Russia's early history. Slavoph ...
to civic leaders, supporting it, and its calls for reform.
Most members joined the
Constitutional Democratic Party
The Constitutional Democratic Party (russian: Конституцио́нно-демократи́ческая па́ртия, translit=Konstitutsionno-demokraticheskaya partiya, K-D), also called Constitutional Democrats and formally the Party of P ...
.
The resumed persecution in 1900 had also banned
Dmitry Shipov's Moscow Provincial Zemstvo Council, formed 1896 and closed shortly after, which drove him, "a reluctant revolutionary", into the circles of the radical constitutionalists.
References
Bibliography
*
{{Russia-hist-stub
Russian Empire
Liberalism in Russia