Liberals under Autocracy: Modernization and Civil Society in Russia, 1866–1904

5. Publishing as Philanthropy: Printing and Politics

The Blessings of Censorship While the Herald of Europe laid the responsibility for Russia’s growing radicalism on government policies, the journal attempted to explore the origins of civil society through literary and historical studies. The state’s reaction demonstrated that even the reformist tsar’s government had trouble distinguishing between a loyal and radical opposition. Ironically, state censorship propelled the moderate Herald to the height of its popularity. Meanwhile, the journal became increasingly popular in the provinces, which demonstrated the rapid spread of public interest in a non-radical and yet critical interpretation of Russia’s past and present beyond the capitals. Editorial caution notwithstanding, storm clouds began to gather over the Herald in its fifth year. In December , the Moscow City Duma sent Alexander II a note expressing anxiety about rollbacks of the Great Reforms. Alexander reacted with anger. The Censorship Bureau received an order to increase its vigilance and turned its attention to the Herald of Europe. Warnings about impending action came from all quarters, including Nekrasov and Saltykov-Shchedrin. In , the Herald began to publish chapters of Pypin’s Notes on the Social Movement under Alexander I, from which the censors cut out ten pages that included Nikolai Novosil’tsev’s constitutional project of . While the censors found Pypin guilty of searching for liberal strains of thought among state officials, he believed that the time had come for Russian historians to “justify” the “men of the s.”1 Stasiulevich, however, became nervous and admitted in a letter to Pypin that he had lost the “censor ’s scent.”2 When Arsen’ev sent him the manuscript of “The Outcome of the Court Reform,” he asked Stasiulevich to “pay special attention to it and   ‫ﱟﱞﱝ‬ Publishing as Philanthropy Printing and Politics to submit it to [self-] censorship,” but even this could not protect a “marked journal.”3 Pypin’s research indirectly articulated the Herald’s moderate political views by clothing them in the language of literary research that barely concealed the hope that spontaneous social initiative would lead Russia out of “darkness , stagnation, and ignorance.” In search of intellectual progress, Pypin explored the Decembrists, the Petrashevskii Circle, the Slavophiles, Westernizers , and Populists. He paid special attention to Herzen and Chernyshevskii. Infused with positivist optimism, Pypin believed that nations developed in relation to each other and that the historian’s job was to trace these tangled trajectories and extract moral lessons from them. Most importantly, he believed that the study of literature was essential to historical understanding. For example, Pypin considered Pan-Slavism premature given the level of ignorance among Russians of the history of other Slavic cultures. He used literature to gauge a people’s psychology and its intellectual progress. Using a non-specialized and accessible narrative, Pypin paid special attention to the development of social consciousness, which made him suspect in the eyes of the authorities.4 In , the Academy of Sciences decided to make Pypin an adjunct in the field of Russian philology and history. However, because the Herald group strongly opposed Count Tolstoi’s “pseudo-classicism,” he and Chief of Gendarmes Pavel Shuvalov opposed Pypin’s candidacy.5 Conscious of the overwhelming current against him, Pypin decided to avoid controversy— Alexander II had already appointed a commission to consider the appointment —and declined the honor.6 Meanwhile, Spasovich, Evgenii Utin, and Arsen’ev took part in the infamous – Nechaev trial, the latter as a defense lawyer for the eightyseven individuals accused of involvement in Sergei Nechaev’s radical terrorist group known as The People’s Revenge, which stood accused of murdering its member Ivan Ivanov in . Nechaev himself had escaped abroad leaving his comrades to face the court. Stasiulevich believed that the Herald owed it to society to comment on the court proceedings. After careful consideration of its contents, Arsen’ev published “The Political Trial of –” in the November  issue. Arsen’ev argued in his article that political persecution drove the opposition underground while at the same time encouraging its “gradual subdivision and degradation.” The socialism of the s emerged as a collective attitude in response to this disunity and appealed to all people who were Publishing as Philanthropy  sympathetic to the sufferings of others. Arsen’ev also argued that trials would not stifle this natural empathy and that only eliminating the causes that encouraged radical acts could stem the revolutionary tide. By blocking off legal paths for helping the downtrodden...