Maksim Maksimovich Kovalevsky (Russian: Максим Максимович Ковалевский; 8 September 1851 – 5 April 1916) was a jurist and the main authority on

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. He was vice-president (1895) and president (1905) of the

International Institute of Sociology The International Institute of Sociology (IIS) is a scholarly organization which seeks to stimulate and facilitate the development, exchange, and application of scientific knowledge to questions of sociological relevance. Membership is open to al ...

. He also held a chair in sociology at the Psycho-Neurological Institute. Kovalevsky was elected into the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...

in 1914. The Russian Sociological Society adopted his name in 1916.

Life

Maksim Kovalevsky was born into the Ukrainian noble family of Kovalevsky and spent his childhood in a manor near

Kharkov Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

. He studied at the

Imperial Kharkov University Imperial Kharkov University (1803–1917) was one of the twelve Imperial Universities of the Russian Empire, now known as National University of Kharkiv in Ukraine. History Foundational years and architectural legacy The Imperial Universi ...

under Dmitri Kachenovsky. He furthered his education in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where he made the acquaintance of

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.Herbert Spencer Herbert Spencer (27 April 1820 – 8 December 1903) was an English polymath active as a philosopher, psychologist, biologist, sociologist, and anthropologist. Spencer originated the expression "survival of the fittest", which he coined in '' ...

, and Vladimir Solovyov. He also became involved in the Masonic movement, contributing to its revival in Russia. After 1878, he read lectures in law at the

Imperial Moscow University Imperial Moscow University () was one of the oldest universities of the Russian Empire, established in 1755. It was the first of the twelve imperial universities of the Russian Empire. Its legacy is continued as Lomonosov Moscow State Universit ...

, where he studied the Russian peasant commune and legal institutions of

Caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Common meanings *Anything from the Caucasus region or related to it ** Ethnic groups in the Caucasus ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus re ...

highlanders. Some of his materials were later used by

Frederick Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''

Ivan Delyanov did not approve of Kovalevsky's liberal views. In 1886, Kovalevsky was kicked out of the university and then settled in Western Europe, where he came to know all major sociologists and anthropologists of his day. His cousin's widow, mathematician

Sofia Kovalevskaya Sofya Vasilyevna Kovalevskaya (; born Korvin-Krukovskaya; – 10 February 1891) was a Russian mathematician who made noteworthy contributions to analysis, partial differential equations and mechanics. She was a pioneer for women in mathematics a ...

, arranged for him a lecture program at the

Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...

. He is portrayed as her lover and fiancé in the Soviet film "

" (1985) and in "Too Much Happiness" (2009), a short story by

Alice Munro Alice Ann Munro ( ; ; 10 July 1931 – 13 May 2024) was a Canadian short story writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. Her work tends to move forward and backward in time, with integrated short story cycles. Munro's ...

published in the August 2009 issue of ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

''. Sofia was "adamant that she would not marry Maksim, fearing that if she did, he would begin to take her for granted and look for a mistress". They parted in 1890 and she died from influenza the following year. After the First Russian Revolution, Kovalevsky resumed his lectures in Russia (in the

University of Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the university from the be ...

), became involved in politics, established a centrist party of democratic reforms (see Progressist Party), was elected into the first

State Duma The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of Russia, Constitution of t ...

, and appointed into the State Council of the Russian Empire. In 1912 he was nominated for a

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

. He was scheduled to take part in the peace negotiations for ending

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

but died in April 1916. The crowd that had attended the funeral at the

Alexander Nevsky Lavra Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, in the belief that this was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Alexa ...

was enormous.

Freemasonry

Initiated to three craft degree March 14, 1888, in Paris, in the Russian lodge "Cosmos". January 9, 1906, member of Lodge "Revival". To other sources - member of the Lodge "Cosmos" before 1915. Since 1906 founding member of the Lodge "Renaissance" of the

Grand Orient of France The Grand Orient de France (, abbr. GODF) is the oldest and largest of several Freemasonic organizations based in France and is the oldest in Continental Europe (as it was formed out of an older Grand Lodge of France in 1773, and briefly absorbe ...

. Was

Worshipful Master In Craft Freemasonry, sometimes known as Blue Lodge Freemasonry, every Masonic lodge elects or appoints Masonic lodge officers to execute the necessary functions of the lodge's life and work. The precise list of such offices may vary between the j ...

Lodge "Renaissance".http://samisdat.com/5/23/523r-voz.htm

Ideas

Among Kovalevsky's contributions to Russian jurisprudence and social science was a new

historical method Historical method is the collection of techniques and guidelines that historians use to research and write histories of the past. Secondary sources, primary sources and material evidence such as that derived from archaeology may all be draw ...

which combined traditional descriptive comparative analysis with sociological/ethnographic methods. Among his disciples were

Pitirim Sorokin Pitirim Alexandrovich Sorokin (; ; – 10 February 1968) was a Russian American sociologist and political activist, who contributed to the social cycle theory. Sorokin was a professor at Saint Petersburg Imperial University, three times impris ...

Nikolai Kondratiev Nikolai Dmitriyevich Kondratiev (; also Kondratieff; Russian: Никола́й Дми́триевич Кондра́тьев; 4 March 1892 – 17 September 1938) was a Russian Soviet economist and proponent of the New Economic Policy (NEP) best ...

, and Nicholas Timasheff (see Sociology in Russia). His early work on the peasant commune influenced

Georgy Plekhanov Georgi Valentinovich Plekhanov ( rus, Георгий Валентинович Плеханов, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj vəlʲɪnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ plʲɪˈxanəf, a=Ru-Georgi Plekhanov-JermyRei.ogg; – 30 May 1918) was a Russian revolutionary, ...

. As a scholar Kovalevsky was a social evolutionist and called himself a disciple of

Auguste Comte Isidore Auguste Marie François Xavier Comte (; ; 19 January 1798 – 5 September 1857) was a French philosopher, mathematician and writer who formulated the doctrine of positivism. He is often regarded as the first philosopher of science in the ...

. He defined sociology as "the science dealing with the organization and evolution of societies".Quoted from: Andrzej Walicki. ''A History of Russian Thought: From the Enlightenment to Marxism''. Stanford University Press, 1979. Pages 367–368. He believed in

progress Progress is movement towards a perceived refined, improved, or otherwise desired state. It is central to the philosophy of progressivism, which interprets progress as the set of advancements in technology, science, and social organization effic ...

as one of the inexorable laws of history. For him progress was "the constant expansion of the environment of peaceful coexistence from tribal unity through

patriotism Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...

cosmopolitanism Cosmopolitanism is the idea that all human beings are members of a single community. Its adherents are known as cosmopolitan or cosmopolite. Cosmopolitanism is both prescriptive and aspirational, believing humans can and should be " world citizen ...

". According to Kovalevsky, economic relations are bound to expand ever further, and the growth of international trade "would bring about the economic integration of the whole world, eliminating the causes of war, and ultimately lead to a world federation of democratic states". Progress depends on population growth as its main driving force.

Selected works

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kovalevsky, Maxime Maksimovich 1851 births 1916 deaths People from Kharkiv Oblast People from Kharkov Governorate Nobility from the Russian Empire Party of Democratic Reform (Russia) politicians Progressive Party (Russia) politicians Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Members of the 1st State Duma of the Russian Empire legal scholars from the Russian Empire 19th-century historians from the Russian Empire Anthropologists from the Russian Empire Sociologists from the Russian Empire Russian criminologists Russian Freemasons National University of Kharkiv alumni Full members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Burials at Nikolskoe Cemetery