Meshchersky V. L. Letters from father to son (old lawyer to new) and son (Minister) to father.

Meshchersky V. L. Letters from father to son (old lawyer to new) and son (Minister) to father.
St. Petersburg, Russia. Printing house of V. p. Meshchersky, 1897. 388 p. Hardcover, Lasse, regular format (13.5 x 19.8 cm). 

Not complete condition: no spine; sticker on the flyleaf "Libraries of the Russian Club in Riga"; stamp on the title; the condition of the block is very good, but there are temporary spots; a slight smell of incense.

[Meshchersky Vladimir Petrovich, Prince (11[23].01. 1839-10[23].07.1914), writer and publicist, public figure.

He was born in St. Petersburg in an old aristocratic family. His father served in the guards with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, his mother was the daughter of N. M. Karamzin. After receiving an excellent home education, Meshchersky entered the privileged school of Law, from which he graduated in 1857. Then he joined the service and for 7 years was a police lawyer and judge in St. Petersburg, then for another 7 years he traveled all over Russia, being an official on special assignments of the Ministry of internal Affairs. Meshchersky's official career ended with his dismissal "for disagreeing with the views of the Ministry of beliefs." After his resignation, until the end of his days, he was listed "under the Ministry of public education" without a place or position, i.e. he was actually a private person. However, Meshchersky did not go into private life, and it was from this time that his literary and social activities began.

From his youth, he was distinguished by his literary abilities. Starting in 1860, he published his works in the Northern bee and later in the Russian Bulletin. Meshchersky wrote poetry in his youth (in 1863 his poem "Tavrida" was published). However, in the future, he wrote only prose, becoming one of the most prominent writers in the genre of novels about the life of "high society", widely popular in his time. Meshchersky's fame was brought by the novels " Women of the Petersburg great world "(1874), " Men of the Petersburg great world "(1897), " One of our Bismarcks "(1874), " the Lord Apostle in the Petersburg great world " (1876). Meshchersky also paid tribute to the genre of the anti-nihilistic novel, creating such works as" Secrets of modern Petersburg "(1876-77), " Notes of a high school student who shot himself " (1875). In addition to fine literature, Meshchersky felt a vocation for political journalism from the very beginning of his literary career. In 1868-70, his "Essays on current public life in Russia" were published, which were highly poisonous in their assessment of the activities of liberal social forces.

Meshchersky's call to "put an end" to the liberal reforms of the 1860s led to his opponents calling him "Prince Dot". However, Meshchersky was proud of all the offensive nicknames received from his enemies. Back in the 1860s, he met the heir to the throne, Alexander Alexandrovich, the future Alexander III, who was courting his sister. Having a gift for storytelling, giving very accurate characteristics of the highest ranks of the Empire and at the same time very critically evaluating the "era of liberalism" of the 1860s (which was then unfashionable), Meshchersky managed to become a trusted adviser to the heir. From 1872 until his death, i.e. 42 years, Meshchersky published a weekly magazine-the newspaper "Citizen". For about a year (1873-74), the Citizen was edited By F. M. Dostoevsky, but then Meshchersky took the editing into his own hands. The editorial office of "citizen" at 77 Nevsky Prospekt became the" think tank " of conservatives, where programs and requirements were developed. Meshchersky himself expounded and promoted them on the pages of his publications.

In addition to "citizen", he also published the magazines "dobro" (1881), " Dobryak "(1882), " Friendly speeches "(1903-14), and the newspaper" Rus " (1894-96). In the autumn of 1884, he began publishing a kind of diary in the form of letters containing his views on current events and intended for one reader - Alexander III. Meshchersky's proximity to the court, his awareness of the intentions of the "upper classes", contributed to the transformation of Meshchersky into an influential politician, a "doer of Ministers". Meshchersky was among those figures who conducted a course of counter-reform in the 1880s. Meshchersky's political views were a synthesis of Slavophilism and protectionism. He made very strong demands, actually becoming one of the forerunners of right-wing radicalism in the twentieth century, and it is no accident that A. I. Dubrovin considered him his forerunner. Meshchersky demanded to stop liberal reformism, to strengthen the role of the nobility in the life of the country. The nobility, Meshchersky believed, was the " army of the autocracy." The root Vice of the reforms of the 1860s is that they were carried out in the interests of the bureaucracy. As a result, the nobility was pushed aside, and a wall of officialdom grew up between the Tsar and the people.

Meshchersky advised to strengthen the nobility to create a system of cheap credit for landlords, for which to strengthen the importance and powers of the Noble Bank, to raise the role of Noble assemblies at all levels. However, Meshchersky was not at all an apologist for the nobility. In his novels about "high society", he was very critical of the mental and moral qualities of the aristocracy. In General, when Meshchersky spoke about the nobility, he spoke more about the national elite of any class origin. But the protection of the position of the nobility, according to Meshchersky, should be the most important task of the government. He was well aware of the problems facing Russia and offered very sound ideas for their solution. He strongly opposed classical high schools, demanding the expansion of the network of real schools, the creation of a system of vocational education, and called for an increase in the number of military schools that trained personnel not only for the mass army, but also for industrial development. Meshchersky advocated religious tolerance, against ridiculous foreign policy, in particular, in the far East, gloomily predicting the coming war with Japan to the delight of the West.

As a politician and thinker, Meshchersky was alone. He was disliked by the "high society" for the unpleasant, sometimes evil image in his novels. Sarcasm and other traits of character made him many enemies among the country's top bureaucracy. Some features of his nature did not add to Meshchersky's popularity. It is clear that for nihilists and liberals Meshchersky was a mortal enemy, and they did everything to make the very name of kN. Meshchersky remained forgotten. Meshchersky was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg.]