The history of Russian liberalism through the lens of the “Muromtsev Readings” (2019–2024)

The author of the article aims to reconstruct the scientific discourse presented during the "Muromtsev Readings" from 2019 to 2024, and to identify current trends in the study of the history of Russian liberalism. Its issues represent the main theme of this annual international conference. The choice of chronological period for the research is determined by the existence of published reviews of the first ten "Muromtsev Readings", which took place from 2009 to 2018. The foundation for the research is based on the collection of materials from the XI-XVI conferences. Its analysis and systematization allowed to identify key characteristics and features of the problems of this creative platform. Each conference was supposed to focus on a specific central issue that provided basis for defining the themes of the readings in their titles. However, this did not imply a refusal to discuss other aspects of the history of Russian liberalism. Thanks to this circumstance, the materials of the "Muromtsev Readings" contribute to holistic vision of liberalism as a complex sociocultural phenomenon. The largest number of presentations at the conference is dedicated to the theory of Russian liberalism, which is explained by its specificity as a particular type of intellectual liberalism. An important characteristic of the problematic field of the "Muromtsev Readings" is the wide temporal range, allowing for a historical reconstruction of the genesis, formation, and evolution of liberalism from the mid XVIII century to the early XXI century. However, the main focus is on the period from the late XIX to the early XX century, as this stage in the history of Russian liberalism was marked by a vast range of specific events and a significant contribution to the theory of liberalism made by the Russian intellectuals. The wide scope of the "Muromtsev Readings" problematic field has allowed to attract the representatives from various sectors of social and humanitarian knowledge. The 'communication networks' of historians, philosophers, sociologists, legal scholars, and economists formed within this platform contribute to elaborate interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches, allowing for a broader understanding of the origins, nature, characteristics, and essence of national liberalism as a social thought and movement. As a result, essential assumptions are created to launch a large-scale project to prepare a multi-volume collective paper on the history of Russian liberalism. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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