M. Katkov and V. Meschersky: alternative options to the “jewish question” in the Russian conservative publicism of the second half of the XIX century

The article considers one of the most acute problems of interethnic relations of the Russian Empire - the "Jewish question". The author focuses on the views of prominent publicists and publishers M. Katkov and V. Meshchersky as spokesmen for the views of the con-servative wing of Russian social thought. The author notes that M. Katkov has always opposed restrictive administrative measures in solving national problems. He saw in the Jewish pogroms yet another proof of the incorrectness of the policy of restricting the rights of Jews. The plans for the resettlement of Jews from Russia to America or Palestine looked utopian for him. The journalist wrote about the historical inevitability of the joint resi-dence of Russians and Jews within the framework of one state. Therefore, Jews should be perceived as Russian subjects. The persistence of the inequality of subjects inflicted damage on state unity. The first step in integrating Jews into Russian society is M. Katkov called for the abolition of all discriminatory measures. The author draws attention to the views of V. Meshchersky, who saw the essence of the Jewish question not only in the religious, cultur-al alienation of Jews from all Russian, but primarily in Jewish dominance in all areas of Russian life, the cause of which was the decline and decay of Russian society itself. In the works of V. Meshchersky and in "Citizen" in the 1880s. Jews firmly took the place of the main internal enemy. Now they were seen as the main vehicles of the harmful influence of the West and carriers of the ideas of liberalism and nihilism that penetrated from there. The publicist considered the main opponent of the Russian state not the Jewish people, but the Jewish intelligentsia. The article emphasizes the striking difference in tonality in the discussion of the Jewish question by V. Meshchersky from consideration of other national problems that could be the subject of the state’s internal policy, solved by administrative methods. The conservative presented Jewish expansion as a global problem, demonstrating the similarity of the development of processes in different countries. In conclusion, the author concludes that there are serious differences in the positions of two prominent representatives of Russian con-servatism in the second half of the 19th century with respect to the whole complex of ethnic, religious, socio-political and economic problems of Russian society that made up the essence of the “Jewish question”.

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