A question which occupies many people in the West, and not only historians,
is the following: why did liberalism fail in Russia? Had there been no possibility
for a gradual development towards a constitutional monarchy which
many Western countries had shown, though perhaps over a prolonged period
of time?
The author has chosen the life of a well-known lawyer, Vasilii Maklakov, to
show how one person has tried to realize and put into practice the road towards
such a gradual development. Vasilii Alekseevich Maklakov was one of the foremost
lawyers and politicians of pre-revolutionary Russia. A convinced liberal
who gave all his forces to set in motion a democratic development from 1904
onwards. He ended his career as ambassador of the Provisional Government in
Paris where he played a significant role as unofficial leader and spokesman of
the Russian emigration.
Anthony Kröner has a degree in chemistry from Leyden University and a PhD
in Russian history from Amsterdam University.
His previous books are: “ The debate between Miliukov and Maklakov on the
fate of Russian liberalism” and the widely acclaimed biography of the last commander
of the White armies in Russia “ The White Knight of the Black Sea
The life of General Peter Wrangel”.