Аннотация:Katkov in the Epoch of Peasant Reform of 1861
Abstract. M.N. Katkov (1818–1887) is a unique fi gure of Russian public life of the second half of the 19th
century. For over thirty years no signifi cant issue remained without Katkov's attention, and his opinion often deeply
infl uenced the course of events. His views constituted the substantial element of protective «reasonable conservatism»
(khranitelstvo). Katkov believed that the unity of the state and society depended on the monarchy that was the Supreme
power. He defended the monarchy and opposed the Slavophile and liberal plans of reforming Russia. In the time when
the preparation of the Peasant Reform of 1861 was going on, Katkov advocated the preservation of the Russian
peasant community with its traditional communal land property, suggesting to assist the economic development of
communities and to replace the redistribution of communal land by the redistribution of ground rent. Estimating the
results of the Reforms of the 1860-s, Katkov insisted that they ruined the stability of the Russian state: based on «false
principles», they were subversive of the state, and destructive to the foundations of the existing order.
Keywords: M.N. Katkov, Peasant Reform of 1861, Russian “Khranitelstvo” (preservation), “Reasonable
Conservatism”.