Venedikt Miakotin
Encyclopedia
Venedikt Aleksandrovich Miakotin (1867-1937) was a Russian historian and narodnik politician.
and educated at the Kronstadt
gymnasium
and the University of Saint Petersburg, where he studied history and philology. He subsequently became a professor of history at Saint Petersburg University. He also lectured at the Aleksandrovsky Lyceum
and the Alexander Military Law Academy
. During his student days, he was greatly influenced by narodnik
writers like N.K. Mikhailovsky, and by French romantic historians. These influences he combined with detailed statistical information gathered by the zemstvo
movement. In the 1890s Miakotin was associated with the 'Legal Populist' movement and contributed to the liberal journal Russkoe Bogatstvo (Russian Wealth), becoming a member of its editorial board in 1904. He collaborated closely with A.V. Peshekhonov
and N.F. Annensky
. Together with them and with former Marxists like P.B. Struve and S.N. Prokopovich
, and liberal nationalists like P.N. Miliukov
, Miakotin founded the 'Union of Liberation'
in 1904, from which the Constitutional-Democratic Party
emerged.
However, Miakotin, like other 'Legal Populists', also maintained contact with illegal circles and with the Socialist-Revolutionaries
. He was involved in the liberal 'banquet campaign' of 1904 (modelled on the French oppositional banquets
organised on the eve of the 1848 revolution) and was arrested several times. In 1905 he tried to mediate between striking workers and the authorities, but was unable to prevent the 'Bloody Sunday' massacre, which triggered the Revolution of 1905. During the Revolution, Miakotin helped organise the radical 'Union of Writers' and participated in the 'Union of Unions'. He also briefly joined the Socialist-Revolutionary Party but rejected its adoption of terrorism and the influence of Marxism on its leading theoreticians (V.M. Chernov, N.S. Rusanov
et al.) In 1906, Miakotin belonged to the narodnik group which broke with the PSR and founded the Popular Socialist Party
(NSP). He was elected to the First Duma
in 1906 and collaborated closely with the Trudovik (Labour) group around A.F. Kerensky
. He also helped edit the NSP's journal Narodnoe Slovo (The People’s Word).
In 1914, Miakotin adopted a 'Defencist
' position with regard to the First World War, although he had previously been sharply critical of official tsarist Great Russian nationalism and rejected imperialist war aims. He supported the February Revolution of 1917, became a member of the central committee of the NSP and helped merge it with the Trudoviki. He supported a liberal-socialist coalition of "all democratic forces" and a continuation of the war effort, long after this had ceased to be a popular position even among moderate socialists. Miakotin opposed the October Revolution
and was one of the leaders of the anti-Bolshevik 'Union for the Revival of Russia'. In 1918 he went to southern Russia, was arrested and imprisoned. In 1922 he was expelled in perpetuity from Soviet Russia. Miakotin became a professor of history at the University of Sofia in 1928. He eventually settled in Prague
and died there in 1937.
Miakotin wrote many works on Russian and Ukrainian history, including Istoriia na Rossiia (1936), Na zarie russkoǐ obshchestvennosti (1905) and Iz istorii russkago obshchestva (1902).
Life
V.A. Miakotin was born in GatchinaGatchina
Gatchina is a town and the administrative center of Gatchinsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located south of St. Petersburg by the road leading to Pskov...
and educated at the Kronstadt
Kronstadt
Kronstadt , also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt |crown]]" and Stadt for "city"); is a municipal town in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg proper near the head of the Gulf of Finland. Population: It is also...
gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
and the University of Saint Petersburg, where he studied history and philology. He subsequently became a professor of history at Saint Petersburg University. He also lectured at the Aleksandrovsky Lyceum
Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum
The Imperial Lyceum in Tsarskoye Selo near Saint Petersburg also known historically as the Imperial Alexander Lyceum after its founder the Emperor Alexander I with the object of educating youths of the best families, who should afterwards occupy important posts in the Imperial service.Its...
and the Alexander Military Law Academy
Alexander Military Law Academy
Alexander Military Law Academy was an educational institution in Russian Empire that provided military law education for officers of Russian Army and Fleet. It was established in 1867 and named after his founder, Emperor Alexander II of Russia in 1908. The Academy was situated in St...
. During his student days, he was greatly influenced by narodnik
Narodnik
Narodniks was the name for Russian socially conscious members of the middle class in the 1860s and 1870s. Their ideas and actions were known as Narodnichestvo which can be translated as "Peopleism", though is more commonly rendered "populism"...
writers like N.K. Mikhailovsky, and by French romantic historians. These influences he combined with detailed statistical information gathered by the zemstvo
Zemstvo
Zemstvo was a form of local government that was instituted during the great liberal reforms performed in Imperial Russia by Alexander II of Russia. The idea of the zemstvo was elaborated by Nikolay Milyutin, and the first zemstvo laws were put into effect in 1864...
movement. In the 1890s Miakotin was associated with the 'Legal Populist' movement and contributed to the liberal journal Russkoe Bogatstvo (Russian Wealth), becoming a member of its editorial board in 1904. He collaborated closely with A.V. Peshekhonov
Alexey Peshekhonov
Alexey Vasilyevich Peshekhonov was a Russian economist, publicist, and statistician. He was a member of the Russian provisional government as a minister of food supplies for some months in the summer of 1917.- Life :Peshekhonov was a self-educated social activist...
and N.F. Annensky
Nikolai Annensky
Nikolai Feodorovich Annensky was a Russian economist, statistician and politician. He was a member of the populist movement and the Socialist-Revolutionary Party before becoming one of the founders of the Russian Popular Socialist Party in 1906.-Biography:Annensky was born in St. Petersburg and...
. Together with them and with former Marxists like P.B. Struve and S.N. Prokopovich
Sergei Prokopovich
Sergei Nikolaevich Prokopovich was a Russian economist, sociologist, 'Revisionist' Social-Democrat and liberal politician.-Life:Prokopovich was born into a noble family in Tsarskoe Selo in 1871. In the early 1890s he became involved in radical student politics and was at first attracted to...
, and liberal nationalists like P.N. Miliukov
Pavel Milyukov
Pavel Nikolayevich Milyukov , a Russian politician, was the founder, leader, and the most prominent member of the Constitutional Democratic party...
, Miakotin founded the 'Union of Liberation'
Union of Liberation
The Union of Liberation was a liberal political group founded in St. Petersburg, Russia in January 1904. Its goal was originally the replacement of the absolutism of the Tsar with a constitutional monarchy...
in 1904, from which the Constitutional-Democratic Party
Constitutional Democratic party
The Constitutional Democratic Party was a liberal political party in the Russian Empire. Party members were called Kadets, from the abbreviation K-D of the party name...
emerged.
However, Miakotin, like other 'Legal Populists', also maintained contact with illegal circles and with the Socialist-Revolutionaries
Socialist-Revolutionary Party
thumb|right|200px|Socialist-Revolutionary election poster, 1917. The caption in red reads "партия соц-рев" , short for Party of the Socialist Revolutionaries...
. He was involved in the liberal 'banquet campaign' of 1904 (modelled on the French oppositional banquets
Campagne des banquets
The Campagne des banquets were political meetings during the July Monarchy in France which destabilized the King of the French Louis-Philippe. The campaign officially took place from 9 July 1847 to 25 December 1847, but in fact continued until the February 1848 Revolution during which the Second...
organised on the eve of the 1848 revolution) and was arrested several times. In 1905 he tried to mediate between striking workers and the authorities, but was unable to prevent the 'Bloody Sunday' massacre, which triggered the Revolution of 1905. During the Revolution, Miakotin helped organise the radical 'Union of Writers' and participated in the 'Union of Unions'. He also briefly joined the Socialist-Revolutionary Party but rejected its adoption of terrorism and the influence of Marxism on its leading theoreticians (V.M. Chernov, N.S. Rusanov
Nikolai Rusanov
Nikolay Sergeyevich Rusanov , 1859, Oryol — July 28, 1939, Berne), also known under the pseudonyms of K. Tarasov and N. Kudrin, was a Russian revolutionary who connected the revolutionary populist movement of the 1870s with the revolutionary parties of the early twentieth century,...
et al.) In 1906, Miakotin belonged to the narodnik group which broke with the PSR and founded the Popular Socialist Party
Popular Socialists (Russia)
The Popular Socialist Party emerged in Russia in the early twentieth century.- History :The roots of the Popular Socialist Party lay in the 'Legal Populist' movement of the 1890s, and its founders looked upon N.K. Mikhailovsky and Alexander Herzen as ideological forerunners...
(NSP). He was elected to the First Duma
Duma
A Duma is any of various representative assemblies in modern Russia and Russian history. The State Duma in the Russian Empire and Russian Federation corresponds to the lower house of the parliament. Simply it is a form of Russian governmental institution, that was formed during the reign of the...
in 1906 and collaborated closely with the Trudovik (Labour) group around A.F. Kerensky
Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky was a major political leader before and during the Russian Revolutions of 1917.Kerensky served as the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government until Vladimir Lenin was elected by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets following the October Revolution...
. He also helped edit the NSP's journal Narodnoe Slovo (The People’s Word).
In 1914, Miakotin adopted a 'Defencist
Internationalist/Defencist Schism
The terms 'Internationalist' and 'Defencist' were commonly used to describe the broad opposing camps in the international socialist movement during and shortly after the First World War. Prior to 1914, anti-militarism had been an article of faith among most European socialist parties...
' position with regard to the First World War, although he had previously been sharply critical of official tsarist Great Russian nationalism and rejected imperialist war aims. He supported the February Revolution of 1917, became a member of the central committee of the NSP and helped merge it with the Trudoviki. He supported a liberal-socialist coalition of "all democratic forces" and a continuation of the war effort, long after this had ceased to be a popular position even among moderate socialists. Miakotin opposed the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
and was one of the leaders of the anti-Bolshevik 'Union for the Revival of Russia'. In 1918 he went to southern Russia, was arrested and imprisoned. In 1922 he was expelled in perpetuity from Soviet Russia. Miakotin became a professor of history at the University of Sofia in 1928. He eventually settled in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and died there in 1937.
Miakotin wrote many works on Russian and Ukrainian history, including Istoriia na Rossiia (1936), Na zarie russkoǐ obshchestvennosti (1905) and Iz istorii russkago obshchestva (1902).