On the relationship between Konstantin Pobedonostsev and Mikhail Katkov in the 1870s

Abstract

The article examines the relationship between Konstantin Pobedonostsev, the chief prosecutor of the Holy Synod, and Mikhail Katkov, an authoritative conservative publicist, the editor of the influential newspaper Moskovskie Vedomosti, in the 1870s. The relevance of the stated problem is due to the growing interest in the history of Russian conservative journalism and its role in the life of Russia in the second half of the 19th century. The novelty of the study consists in the introduction into scholarly discourse of little-studied material, in particular, the letters of Boleslav Markevich and Pobedonostsev. The analysis of the relations between the high-ranking official and the authoritative journalist in the years preceding the culminating period of their political careers shows the characteristic features of the political life of Russia in the 1870s, to determine the role of personal ties between representatives of the bureaucratic elite and the leaders of domestic journalism. On the basis of poorly studied archival materials, diary entries, letters and memoirs of contemporaries, the authors consider forms of interaction between Pobedonostsev and Katkov. The authors prove that, during this period, Pobedonostsev did not provide Katkov and his newspaper with significant assistance: he did not take part in finding contacts necessary for the journalist in the entourage of Alexander II and in the government, did not try to influence the decisions of the highest censorship bodies, did not provide information support, etc. On the contrary, Pobedonostsev himself needed Katkov's support during these years and could only provide moral assistance to the journalist, expressing in personal correspondence his solidarity and sympathy with his speeches in the newspaper Moskovskie Vedomosti. Katkov opposed his decisive actions, assertiveness, purposefulness, and desire to achieve the result he needed in everything to Pobedonostsev's pedantry, habit of formalism, standard, and desire to avoid significant changes. As a result, despite the closeness of views that evolved to conservatism during this period and frankness in expressing their dissatisfaction with the government course to each other, Pobedonostsev and Katkov had growing internal contradictions and misunderstandings, which eventually led to disunity between them in the 1880s, when they both began to play major roles in the entourage of Emperor Alexander III. The authors conclude that the union of Pobedonostsev and Katkov, which seemed strong and indestructible to many contemporaries, became fragile and unstable back in the 1870s, and did not contribute to the formation of a unified and clear program of Russian conservatives.