Chapter 6 considers the work of two positivist liberals, Pavel Miliukov and Maksim Kovalevskii, with particular reference to the constituent liberal idea of progress. The chapter argues that the idea of progress played a seminal role in their understanding of the significance of liberalism for Russia, and that this is the source of both important strengths and deep tensions within their careers as liberal politicians. More specifically, the chapter analyses to what extent their political activities and writings relied on a deterministic view of history, and how they sought to reconcile their positivist beliefs with the claims of flesh-and-blood individuals. While these men deserve a place in Russia’s liberal pantheon, the elements of their thought that support a teleological view of history as progressing upwards towards a perfect society sit in tension with non-dogmatic, pluralistic forms of liberalism.

Chapter 3 presents a contextual analysis of how intellectuals engaged ever more intensely with liberal notions of a constitution, democracy, and a free press (among others), and witnessed the effects of their (flawed) implementation first-hand in the years around 1905. The chapter recasts the party politics and discussions of the period to show how Russia’s most prominent liberals systematically engaged with liberal ideas and practices of Western origin as they constantly redefined their attitudes to the important issues of the time – agrarian reform, civil liberties, political terror, and democratization – as new problems and obstacles arose. It argues that there was no easy solution that was both morally viable and tactically expedient to the Russian liberal dilemma. Primary sources demonstrate both the range of liberal views represented within the Kadet Party, and how moral, political, and legal questions concerning the defence of individual dignity during revolution were not easily resolved, particularly since they were posed during times of social confusion and political upheaval. The chapter attempts to show that Russian thinkers modified their views of liberal ideas such as freedom and progress in the light of circumstances which were changing all the time.