Abstract

The article examines the attitude of Russian liberals of the second half of the XIX century to the Eastern question, that occupied an important place in the foreign policy of Russia and for more than half a century from the Crimean to the First World War, served as an object of reflection and debate, the causative agent of public opinion of the country.

The authors reveal the liberals’ understanding of the content of the Eastern question and the evolution of its perception, the main vector of which was the transition from contemplative reflection and publicistic discussion to attempts to understand the internal development of the country through its prism and influence on government policy. The Eastern question itself in the views of some liberals gradually turned from an object of abstract reasoning into an urgent problem, where the practical solution on which the fate of the country largely depended.

The article analyzes the liberal understanding of the essence and main components of the Eastern question. It is emphasized that the liberal view, without claiming to be a scientific and a comprehensive coverage of it, tried to clarify for itself and for society these main elements of the eastern question, which in various epochs was reduced either to Russia’s support of the national liberation movement of the Slavs in the Balkans, which created opportunities for asserting its influence in the region; or to ensuring control over the Black sea Straits; or to reaching agreements with leading European States on the division of the "Turkish inheritance." Attention is drawn to the fact that in contrast to the majority of Russian conservatives, liberals closely linked the solution to the Eastern question with the implementation of reforms in the country, and, at least until the beginning of the twentieth century, with the rejection of the use of force in the Balkans. The article is intended to determine the factors that influenced the evolution of the attitude of liberal publicists to the Eastern question, to consider the historical context: changes in the international situation and the political situation which were reflected in their foreign policy views.

摘要

这篇文章考察了 19 世纪下半叶俄罗斯自由主义者对东方问题的态度，东方问题在俄罗斯的外交政策中占有重要地位，从克里米亚到第一次世界大战的半个多世纪里，反思和争论的对象，国家舆论的推动者。

作者揭示了自由派对东方问题内容的理解及其观念的演变，其主要载体是从沉思反思和公共讨论转向试图通过其棱镜和影响来理解国家内部发展。关于政府政策。在一些自由主义者看来，东方问题本身逐渐从抽象推理的对象变成了一个紧迫的问题，在很大程度上取决于国家命运的实际解决方案。

文章分析了自由主义对东方问题本质和主要组成部分的理解。需要强调的是，自由派的观点并不声称是对它的科学和全面的报道，而是试图为自己和社会澄清东方问题的这些主要因素，这些因素在各个时代都被归结为俄罗斯对民族国家的支持。巴尔干地区斯拉夫人的解放运动，为在该地区维护其影响创造了机会；或确保对黑海海峡的控制；或与欧洲主要国家就“土耳其遗产”的分割达成协议。值得注意的是，与大多数俄罗斯保守派相比，自由主义者将东方问题的解决与该国的改革紧密联系在一起，至少在 20 世纪初，与在巴尔干地区拒绝使用武力密切相关。文章旨在确定影响自由主义公关人员对东方问题态度演变的因素，考虑历史背景：国际形势的变化和政治形势的变化反映在他们的外交政策观点中。