Pavel Milyukov
Encyclopedia
Pavel Nikolayevich Milyukov (Cyrillic: Павел Николаевич Милюков; 31 March 1943), a Russia
n politician, was the founder, leader, and the most prominent member of the Constitutional Democratic party
(known as the Kadets). His name is sometimes rendered in English as Paul Miliukov or Paul Milukoff.
.
Milyukov studied at the Moscow University, where he was influenced by the liberal ideas of Konstantin Kavelin
and Boris Chicherin
. He made a successful career as a historian, publishing the three-volume Outlines of Russian Culture over the years from 1896 to 1903. The last volume was actually finished in jail, where he spent six months for his political speech at a private event (1901).
Having lost his position at the university due to political issues, Milyukov traveled widely and visited the United States
several times. He also contributed to the clandestine journal Liberation in 1902.
When the First Russian Revolution
started three years later, he founded the Constitutional Democratic party
, represented it in the State Duma
, and drafted the Vyborg Manifesto
, calling for political freedom, reforms and passive resistance to the governmental policy. He was invited to contribute an analysis of contemporary Russia, based on his lectures at the University of Chicago and Boston's Lowell's Institute, to the University of Chicago Press; Russia and Its Crisis, which he penned in fluent English, was published by the Press in August 1905.
With the outbreak of World War I
, Milyukov swung to the right, promoting patriotic policies of national defense, insisting his younger son (who subsequently died in battle) volunteer for the army, and campaigning for the formation of the Progressive Bloc
of moderate leaders. Milyukov was regarded as a staunch supporter of the conquest of Istanbul
. His opponents mockingly called him "Milyukov of Dardanelles
". In 1916, however, he again moved to the left, sharply criticising the government for its inefficiency.
Miliukov highlighted numerous governmental failures with the famous question "stupidity or treason?". According to Melissa Kirschke Stockdale in Paul Miliukov and the Quest for a Liberal Russia, it was a "volatile combination of revolutionary passions, escalating apprehension, and the near breakdown of unity in the moderate camp that provided the impetus for the most notorious address in the history of the Duma
..." The speech was a milestone on the road to Rasputin's murder and the February Revolution
.
At Progressive Bloc meetings near the end of October, Progressives and left-Kadets argued that the revolutionary public mood could no longer be ignored and that the Duma should attack the entire tsarist system or lose whatever influence it had. Nationalists feared that a concerted stand against the government would jeopardize the existence of the Duma and further inflame the revolutionary feelings. Miliukov argued for and secured a tenuous adherence to a middle-ground tactic, attacking Boris Stürmer
and forcing his replacement.
According to Stockdale he had trouble gaining the support of his own party; at the 22–24 October Kadet fall conference provincial delegates "lashed out at Miliukov with unaccustomed ferocity. His travels abroad had made him poorly informed about the public mood, they charged; the patience of the people was exhausted." He responded with a plea to keep their ultimate goal in mind:
The day before the opening of the Duma, the Progressist party pulled out of the bloc because they believed the situation called for more than a mere denunciation of Stürmer. At the start of the session government ministers, forewarned by an informant within the bloc of the attack to come, left the chamber. Alexander Kerensky
spoke first, called the ministers "hired assassins" and "cowards" and said they were "guided by the contemptible Grishka
Rasputin!" The acting president ordered him away for calling for the overthrow of the government in wartime. Miliukov's speech was more than three times longer than Kerensky's, and delivered using much more moderate language.
He began by outlining how public hope had been lost over the course of the war, saying: "we have lost faith that the government can lead us to victory." He mentioned the rumours of treason and then proceeded to discuss some of the allegations: that Stürmer had freed Sukhomlinov
, that there was a great deal of pro-German propaganda, that he had been told that the enemy had access to Russian state secrets in his visits to allied countries, and that Stürmer's private secretary had been arrested for taking German bribes but was released when he kicked back to Stürmer. After each accusation near the end of the speech, he asked, "Is this stupidity or is it treason?", and the listeners answered "Stupidity!", "Treason!", or "Both!" Miliukov stated that it did not matter as "the consequences are the same."
Stockdale also points out that Miliukov admitted to some reservations about his evidence in his memoirs, where he observed that his listeners resolutely answered treason "even in those aspects where I myself was not entirely sure."
Richard Abraham, in his biography of Kerensky argues that the withdrawal of the Progressists was essentially a vote of no confidence in Miliukov and that he grasped at the idea of accusing Stürmer in an effort to preserve his own influence.
Milyukov hoped to retain the constitutional monarchy
in Russia
, but events developed too quickly for him to follow. In the first provisional government, led by his fellow Kadet Prince Lvov, Milyukov became Minister of Foreign Affairs. He staunchly opposed popular demands for peace at any cost and firmly clung to Russia's wartime alliances. As the Britannica 2004 put it, "he was too inflexible to succeed in practical politics". On 20 April 1917 the government sent a note to Britain
and France
(which became known as Milyukov's Note
) proclaiming that Russia would fulfill its obligation towards the Allies and wage the war as long as it was necessary. Soldiers and citizens of Petrograd demanded Milyukov's resignation, which followed on 2 May.
After the Bolshevik revolution Milyukov left Petrograd and advised various leaders of the White Movement
. After the Russian Civil War
he emigrated to France
, where he remained active in politics and edited the Russian-language newspaper Latest News (1920–1940). While living abroad, Milyukov was the object of several assassination attempts. In one attempt, his friend Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov
, the father of famous novelist Vladimir Nabokov
, was killed while shielding Milyukov from his attackers. In 1934, Milyukov was a witness at the Berne Trial.
Although he remained an opponent of the communist regime, Milyukov supported Stalin's foreign policy. Thus, he commented on the Winter War
as follows: “I feel pity for the Finns, but I am for the Vyborg guberniya
”.
Milyukov died in Aix-les-Bains
in France.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n politician, was the founder, leader, and the most prominent member of 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...
(known as the Kadets). His name is sometimes rendered in English as Paul Miliukov or Paul Milukoff.
Pre-revolutionary career
Milyukov was born in the middle class family of an architect who claimed in his autobiography to be a nobleman from the House of MilukoffMilukoff
Milyukov , also spelled Milukoff, Milukov, Melukov, Melukoff, is an old Russian noble family . Milyukovs were recorded in the ancient nobility books of Moscow, Orlov, Simbirsk, St. Petersburg, Tver, Yaroslavl, and Tula Governorates...
.
Milyukov studied at the Moscow University, where he was influenced by the liberal ideas of Konstantin Kavelin
Konstantin Kavelin
Konstantin Dmitrievich Kavelin was a Russian historian, jurist, and sociologist, sometimes called the chief architect of early Russian liberalism.Born in Saint Petersburg into an old noble family, Kavelin graduated from the legal department of the Moscow University...
and Boris Chicherin
Boris Chicherin
Boris Nikolayevich Chicherin was a Russian jurist and political philosopher, who worked out a theory that Russia needed a strong, authoritative government to persevere with liberal reforms...
. He made a successful career as a historian, publishing the three-volume Outlines of Russian Culture over the years from 1896 to 1903. The last volume was actually finished in jail, where he spent six months for his political speech at a private event (1901).
Having lost his position at the university due to political issues, Milyukov traveled widely and visited the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
several times. He also contributed to the clandestine journal Liberation in 1902.
When the First Russian Revolution
Russian Revolution of 1905
The 1905 Russian Revolution was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. Some of it was directed against the government, while some was undirected. It included worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military mutinies...
started three years later, he founded 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...
, represented it in the State Duma
State Duma
The State Duma , common abbreviation: Госду́ма ) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma headquarters is located in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to...
, and drafted the Vyborg Manifesto
Vyborg Manifesto
The Vyborg Appeal was a declaration issued by Kadets and Trudoviks politicians, former deputies of the disbanded Russian First State Duma on July 9, 1906....
, calling for political freedom, reforms and passive resistance to the governmental policy. He was invited to contribute an analysis of contemporary Russia, based on his lectures at the University of Chicago and Boston's Lowell's Institute, to the University of Chicago Press; Russia and Its Crisis, which he penned in fluent English, was published by the Press in August 1905.
With the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Milyukov swung to the right, promoting patriotic policies of national defense, insisting his younger son (who subsequently died in battle) volunteer for the army, and campaigning for the formation of the Progressive Bloc
Progressive Bloc (Russia)
Progressive Bloc was an alliance of political forces in the Russian Empire. It was formed when the State Duma of the Russian Empire was recalled to session during World War I, the response of Nicholas II of Russia to mounting social tensions...
of moderate leaders. Milyukov was regarded as a staunch supporter of the conquest of Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. His opponents mockingly called him "Milyukov of Dardanelles
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...
". In 1916, however, he again moved to the left, sharply criticising the government for its inefficiency.
"Stupidity or treason" speech
On 1 November 1916, during a speech in the State DumaState Duma
The State Duma , common abbreviation: Госду́ма ) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma headquarters is located in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to...
Miliukov highlighted numerous governmental failures with the famous question "stupidity or treason?". According to Melissa Kirschke Stockdale in Paul Miliukov and the Quest for a Liberal Russia, it was a "volatile combination of revolutionary passions, escalating apprehension, and the near breakdown of unity in the moderate camp that provided the impetus for the most notorious address in the history of the 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...
..." The speech was a milestone on the road to Rasputin's murder and the February Revolution
February Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
.
At Progressive Bloc meetings near the end of October, Progressives and left-Kadets argued that the revolutionary public mood could no longer be ignored and that the Duma should attack the entire tsarist system or lose whatever influence it had. Nationalists feared that a concerted stand against the government would jeopardize the existence of the Duma and further inflame the revolutionary feelings. Miliukov argued for and secured a tenuous adherence to a middle-ground tactic, attacking Boris Stürmer
Boris Stürmer
Baron Boris Vladimirovich Stürmer was a Russian statesman. He served as Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and Interior Minister of the Russian Empire for several months during 1916.- Biography :...
and forcing his replacement.
According to Stockdale he had trouble gaining the support of his own party; at the 22–24 October Kadet fall conference provincial delegates "lashed out at Miliukov with unaccustomed ferocity. His travels abroad had made him poorly informed about the public mood, they charged; the patience of the people was exhausted." He responded with a plea to keep their ultimate goal in mind:
It will be our task not to destroy the government, which would only aid anarchy, but to instill in it a completely different content, that is, to build a genuine constitutional order. That is why, in our struggle with the government, despite everything, we must retain a sense of proportion.... To support anarchy in the name of the struggle with the government would be to risk all the political conquests we have made since 1905.
The day before the opening of the Duma, the Progressist party pulled out of the bloc because they believed the situation called for more than a mere denunciation of Stürmer. At the start of the session government ministers, forewarned by an informant within the bloc of the attack to come, left the chamber. Alexander 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...
spoke first, called the ministers "hired assassins" and "cowards" and said they were "guided by the contemptible Grishka
The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya
The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya is an opera in four acts by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The libretto was written by Vladimir Belsky, and is based on a combination of two Russian legends: that of St. Fevroniya of Murom, and the city of Kitezh, which became invisible...
Rasputin!" The acting president ordered him away for calling for the overthrow of the government in wartime. Miliukov's speech was more than three times longer than Kerensky's, and delivered using much more moderate language.
He began by outlining how public hope had been lost over the course of the war, saying: "we have lost faith that the government can lead us to victory." He mentioned the rumours of treason and then proceeded to discuss some of the allegations: that Stürmer had freed Sukhomlinov
Vladimir Sukhomlinov
Vladimir Aleksandrovich Sukhomlinov was a cavalry general of the Imperial Russian Army who served as the Chief of the General Staff in 1908–09 and the Minister of War until 1915, when he was ousted from office amid allegations of failure to provide necessary armaments and munitions.Vladimir...
, that there was a great deal of pro-German propaganda, that he had been told that the enemy had access to Russian state secrets in his visits to allied countries, and that Stürmer's private secretary had been arrested for taking German bribes but was released when he kicked back to Stürmer. After each accusation near the end of the speech, he asked, "Is this stupidity or is it treason?", and the listeners answered "Stupidity!", "Treason!", or "Both!" Miliukov stated that it did not matter as "the consequences are the same."
Stockdale also points out that Miliukov admitted to some reservations about his evidence in his memoirs, where he observed that his listeners resolutely answered treason "even in those aspects where I myself was not entirely sure."
Richard Abraham, in his biography of Kerensky argues that the withdrawal of the Progressists was essentially a vote of no confidence in Miliukov and that he grasped at the idea of accusing Stürmer in an effort to preserve his own influence.
February Revolution and its aftermath
During the February RevolutionFebruary Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
Milyukov hoped to retain the constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, but events developed too quickly for him to follow. In the first provisional government, led by his fellow Kadet Prince Lvov, Milyukov became Minister of Foreign Affairs. He staunchly opposed popular demands for peace at any cost and firmly clung to Russia's wartime alliances. As the Britannica 2004 put it, "he was too inflexible to succeed in practical politics". On 20 April 1917 the government sent a note to Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(which became known as Milyukov's Note
Miliukov note
The Milyukov note was an incident on the 20th of April 1917, one which resulted in the bolstering of support for the Bolsheviks in Russia, and a widespread mistrust of the Russian Provisional Government...
) proclaiming that Russia would fulfill its obligation towards the Allies and wage the war as long as it was necessary. Soldiers and citizens of Petrograd demanded Milyukov's resignation, which followed on 2 May.
After the Bolshevik revolution Milyukov left Petrograd and advised various leaders of the White Movement
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
. After the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
he emigrated to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where he remained active in politics and edited the Russian-language newspaper Latest News (1920–1940). While living abroad, Milyukov was the object of several assassination attempts. In one attempt, his friend Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov
Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov
Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov was a Russian criminologist, journalist, and progressive statesman during the last years of the Russian Empire. He was the father of Russian-American author Vladimir Nabokov.- Life :Nabokov was born in Tsarskoe Selo, into a wealthy and aristocratic family...
, the father of famous novelist Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
, was killed while shielding Milyukov from his attackers. In 1934, Milyukov was a witness at the Berne Trial.
Although he remained an opponent of the communist regime, Milyukov supported Stalin's foreign policy. Thus, he commented on the Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
as follows: “I feel pity for the Finns, but I am for the Vyborg guberniya
Vyborg Governorate
The Vyborg Governorate was established in territories ceded by the Swedish Empire in the Great Northern War. By the Treaty of Nystad in 1721, Sweden formally ceded control of the parts of the Viborg and Nyslott County and the Kexholm County located on the Karelian Isthmus to Russia...
”.
Milyukov died in Aix-les-Bains
Aix-les-Bains
Aix-les-Bains is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It is situated on the shore of Lac du Bourget, by rail north of Chambéry.-Geography:...
in France.
External links
- Russia and its crisis (1905) by P.N. Miliukov
- Constitutional government for Russia an address delivered before the Civic forum by P.N. Miliukov. New York city, January 14, 1908 (1908)
- Bolshevism: an international danger by P.N. Miliukov. 1920.
- Russia, to-day and to-morrow (1922) by P.N. Miliukov.
- "An Open Letter to Professor P.N. Miliukov", an early critique of Miliukov's liberalism by Leon TrotskyLeon TrotskyLeon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....