The famous writer S. Zweig, using the phrase "finest hour", meant "such significant moments when the turn of events, on which not only the present, but also the future depends, takes place in one day, at one hour and even in one minute"1 . Russian liberals also had such a "golden hour" when, as it seemed to them, their most cherished aspirations were realized. What this "hour" truly turned out to be is described in this essay. Stuttgart is located in the valley of one of the right tributaries of the Rhine. Here, on June 18 (July 1 A.D.), 1902, the first issue of the uncensored Russian liberal newspaper Osvobozhdeniye was published. Most of the circulation was printed on special Indian paper - strong but thin, to make it easier to smuggle the newspaper into Russia illegally. Its numbers were rolled up in small cartridges for this purpose. In a word, "illegality", almost like that of real revolutionary parties. But here is a clear incongruity with this. The policy statement "From the Russian Constitutionalists", published in the first issue of Osvobozhdeniye, was addressed not to the "common people" or even to "educated society", but to the autocracy. Here is the basic point of this document: "In our program, we proceed from the assumption that in the more or less near future, the government will be faced with the need to start serious political reform." We should pay tribute to the liberals: they sensed the approach of the revolution in advance, and therefore called on the autocracy to make concessions in order to avoid the "worst". The author of the statement-a scholar - historian-recalled the ancient legend of the Sibyl (a mythical female prophetess) from Qom, who offered the Roman king Tarquinius to buy the books of destinies. He refused to pay the price. The Sibyl began to burn the books, and then the king was forced to buy the remaining ones for the original price. This was followed by an edifying conclusion: "The Roman legend gives a useful lesson to kings and ... Читать далее