Venedikt Aleksandrovich Miakotin (; 12 March 1867 – 5 October 1937) was a Russian historian and

Narodnik The Narodniks were members of a movement of the Russian Empire intelligentsia in the 1860s and 1870s, some of whom became involved in revolutionary agitation against tsarism. Their ideology, known as Narodism, Narodnism or ,; , similar to the ...

politician.

Biography

V. A. Miakotin was born in

Gatchina Gatchina (, ) is a town and the administrative center of Gatchinsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies south-south-west of St. Petersburg, along the E95 highway which links Saint Petersburg and Pskov. Population: It was pr ...

Saint Petersburg Governorate Saint Petersburg Governorate was a province (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Saint Petersburg. The governorate was composed of of area and 2,112,033 inhabitants. It was bordered by Governorate of Estonia, Estonian and G ...

. Miakotin was educated at the

Kronstadt Kronstadt (, ) is a Russian administrative divisions of Saint Petersburg, port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal cities of Russia, federal city of Saint Petersburg, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg, near the head ...

gymnasium and 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 ...

, where he studied history and philology. He subsequently became a professor of history at Saint Petersburg University. He also lectured at the Aleksandrovsky Lyceum and the Alexander Military Law Academy. During his student days, he was greatly influenced by ''

narodnik The Narodniks were members of a movement of the Russian Empire intelligentsia in the 1860s and 1870s, some of whom became involved in revolutionary agitation against tsarism. Their ideology, known as Narodism, Narodnism or ,; , similar to the ...

'' writers like N.K. Mikhailovsky, and by French romantic historians. These influences he combined with detailed statistical information gathered by the

zemstvo A zemstvo (, , , ''zemstva'') was an institution of local government set up in consequence of the emancipation reform of 1861 of Imperial Russia by Emperor Alexander II of Russia. Nikolay Milyutin elaborated the idea of the zemstvo, and the fi ...

movement. In the 1890s Miakotin was associated with the 'Legal Populist' movement and contributed to the liberal journal '' Russkoe Bogatstvo'' (''Russian Wealth''), becoming a member of its editorial board in 1904. He collaborated closely with A.V. Peshekhonov and N.F. Annensky. Together with them and with former Marxists like P.B. Struve and S.N. Prokopovich, and liberal nationalists like P.N. Miliukov, Miakotin founded the '

Union of Liberation Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Uni ...

' in 1904, from which the

Constitutional-Democratic Party The Constitutional Democratic Party (, K-D), also called Constitutional Democrats and formally the Party of People's Freedom (), was a political party in the Russian Empire that promoted Western constitutional monarchy—among other policies� ...

emerged. However, Miakotin, like other 'Legal Populists', also maintained contact with illegal circles and with the

Socialist-Revolutionaries The Socialist Revolutionary Party (SR; ,, ) was a major socialist political party in the late Russian Empire, during both phases of the Russian Revolution, and in early Soviet Russia. The party members were known as Esers (). The SRs were agr ...

. He was involved in the liberal 'banquet campaign' of 1904 (modelled on the French oppositional banquets organised on the eve of the 1848 revolution) and was arrested several times. In 1905 he tried to mediate between striking workers and the authorities, but was unable to prevent the 'Bloody Sunday' massacre, which triggered the

Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, t ...

. During the Revolution, Miakotin helped organise the radical 'Union of Writers' and participated in the 'Union of Unions'. He also briefly joined the Socialist-Revolutionary Party but rejected its adoption of terrorism and the influence of Marxism on its leading theoreticians ( V.M. Chernov, N.S. Rusanov et al.) In 1906, Miakotin belonged to the ''narodnik'' group which broke with the PSR and founded the Popular Socialist Party (NSP). He was elected to the First

Duma A duma () is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were formed across Russia ...

in 1906 and collaborated closely with the

Trudovik The Trudoviks () were a democratic socialist political party of Russia in the early 20th century. History The Trudoviks were a breakaway of the Socialist Revolutionary Party faction as they defied the party's stance by standing in the First ...

(Labour) group around A.F. Kerensky. He also helped edit the NSP's journal ''Narodnoe Slovo'' (The People’s Word). In 1914, Miakotin adopted a ' Defencist' position with regard to the

First World War 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 ...

, although he had previously been sharply critical of official tsarist Great Russian nationalism and rejected imperialist war aims. He supported the

February Revolution of 1917 The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of two revolutions which took place in Russia in 1917. The main ...

, became a member of the central committee of the NSP and helped merge it with the ''Trudoviki''. He supported a liberal-socialist coalition of "all democratic forces" and a continuation of the war effort, long after this had ceased to be a popular position even among moderate socialists. Miakotin opposed the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

and was one of the leaders of the anti-Bolshevik 'Union for the Revival of Russia'. In 1918 he went to southern Russia, was arrested and imprisoned. In 1922 he was expelled in perpetuity from the Soviet Union. Miakotin became a professor of history at the

University of Sofia Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" () is a public research university in Sofia, Bulgaria. It is the oldest institution of higher education in Bulgaria. Founded on 1 October 1888, the edifice of the university was constructed between 1924 ...

in 1928. He eventually settled in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

and died there in 1937. Miakotin wrote many works on Russian and Ukrainian history, including ''Istoriia na Rossiia'' (1936), ''Na zarie russkoǐ obshchestvennosti'' (1905) and ''Iz istorii russkago obshchestva'' (1902).

References

* Иогансон, Е., ''"Все для народа, все через народ": В. Мякотин: историк и нар. социалист.'' Свобод. мысль. (Москва), 1993. № 4. С. 107-117. * Hildermeier, M., ''Die Sozialrevolutionäre Partei Russlands.'' Cologne, 1978. * Anoprieva, G.S., and N.D. Erofeev
Myakotin V.A. (1867-1937), historian, public and political figure.
''Saint-Petersburg Encyclopedia''. Also ''passim'': * Lazarski, Ch., ''The Lost Opportunity: Attempts at Unification of the Anti-Bolsheviks, 1917-19.'' Lanham, 2008. * Tuminez, A.S., ''Russian Nationalism since 1856: Ideology and the Making of Foreign Policy.'' Lanham, 2000. {{DEFAULTSORT:Miakotin, Venedikt 1867 births 1937 deaths People from Gatchina People from Tsarskoselsky Uyezd Narodniks Popular Socialists (Russia) 19th-century historians from the Russian Empire Czechoslovak historians Saint Petersburg State University alumni People of the Russian Revolution Soviet expatriates Immigrants to Czechoslovakia Inmates of Butyrka prison