Гласность, бюрократия и (не)существование публичной сферы в России периода Великих реформ

Новое литературное обозрение. 2026. Т. 201. № 5. С. 124–144.

Yurski A.

The article focuses on the concept of glasnost, widely used by both contemporaries and researchers of the mid-19th century in Russia. Historians, referring to this concept, rarely problematize its meaning, which in fact turns out to be extremely important and indicative for understanding the public debates of this period. Turning to the concept itself allows us to ask the question of the (non)existence of the public sphere in Russia, when the first decade of the reign of Alexander II is seen as the "era of glasnost". It is shown that the public understanding (understanding by the public) of glasnost is primarily oriented towards freedom of speech, the absence of censorship, and the ability to openly speak out on various topics. The ideal of glasnost for the public is the English uncensored press, which in Russian can only be realized in the publications of A.I. Herzen. At the same time, for the bureaucracy in its "enlightened" part, glasnost is not seen as an analogue of freedom of speech. For them, glasnost is a way of carrying out reforms (primarily peasant reforms), including the public in the decision-making process as one of the parties, but having only an advisory voice.

Keywords: бюрократия, публичная сфера, история понятий, гласность, Великие реформы в России

Publication based on the results of: Development of models for assessing the effectiveness of the socio-political and institutional systems of Russia in historical retrospect (2026)