Moses Yakovlevich Ostrogorsky ( 1854 , Belsky district , Grodno province - February 10, 1921 , Petrograd ) - Russian political scientist, historian, lawyer, sociologist. Some sources cite other dates of his birth ( 1852 ) and death ( 1919 ). Older brother A. Ya. Ostrogorsky .
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Education
Born in 1854 in the Belsky district of the Grodno province in the family of a teacher. He graduated from the law faculty of St. Petersburg University and the Paris Free School of Political Science (École libre de sciences politiques), where he wrote his dissertation Les origines du suffrage universel (“On the origin of universal suffrage” 1885 ).
Public service and political activities
For some time he served in the Ministry of Justice. In 1906 he was a member of the First State Duma of the Grodno province; he took an active part in the work on drafting the mandate of the State Duma from the Grodno province, in the work on drawing up the mandate of the State Duma and in the activities of the commission on personal integrity; while remaining non-partisan, he usually voted with the Cadets. At the plenary session he spoke on the Belostok pogrom . At the time of the dissolution of the Duma, he was in London as a delegate from the Duma at the inter-parliamentary conference (after the dissolution of the Duma he published the book Ostrogorsky's Activities in the First State Duma, St. Petersburg, 1906 ). He never returned to political activity, he lived abroad for some time.
After leaving politics, he taught at the Psychoneurological Institute in St. Petersburg .
Historian
Compiled a number of educational books that have survived many editions: “Chronology of Russian history” (St. Petersburg, 1872 ), “ Chronology of universal and Russian history ” (St. Petersburg, 1873), “Brief chronology of universal and Russian history” (St. Petersburg, 1873 ), "History of Russia for public schools", "Textbook of Russian history for Grade III gymnasiums" (St. Petersburg, 1891 ).
Lawyer
From 1876 he published the Legal Calendar annually. The author of the study that summarized the cassation practice (“Cassation Practice for the Year”, St. Petersburg, 1881 ).
Political Scientist
The author of the book devoted to the problems of women's equality: La Femme au point de vue du droit public ( Paris , 1892 , 2nd English edition, London , 1908 ; German translation, Leipzig , 1897 , Polish translation, Warsaw , 1898 ).
His main work: La democratie et l'organisation des partis politiques ( Paris , 1903 ; English edition, London , 1903 ; reworking of the second volume under the name of the United States, New York , 1910 ; new revised publication of all labor under the title La democratie et les partis politiques, “Democracy and Political Parties”, Paris , 1912 ). This book was reprinted in the Soviet (in two volumes - M., 1927 , M., 1930 ) and the post-Soviet (M., 1997 ) periods of Russian history. A series of his articles on the newest evolution of the English state system in the Herald of Europe ( 1913 , 9–12), published in 1916 as a separate book, [1], adjoined the main work of Ostrogorsky.
The annotation to the publication of the book “Democracy and Political Parties” ( 1997 ) states: “The classic work of Ostrogorsky for the first time revealed the mechanism of power and control in modern society, showing the contradiction between the principles of democracy and the actual functioning of political parties. The rapid transition from traditional society to democracy, which turned the masses into a real factor in the political process, created the possibility of a new authoritarian regime — democratic caesarism, which uses democratic forms to assert the anti-legal regime and justify the power of the minority party oligarchy over the majority. Ostrogorsky was the first to establish the connection of such parameters of modern development as the transition to mass society and the possibility of manipulating the will of voters, the relationship of the masses and political parties, bureaucratization and formalization of these parties themselves in conditions of fierce competition during the struggle for power. All these trends are expressed in the emergence of a special political machine that allows leaders to concentrate power over party structures. ”
As a political thinker, he gained recognition in the West earlier than in Russia, had a significant impact on the world political thought of the 20th century. Along with Max Weber and Robert Michels , he is considered one of the founders of political sociology , first of all, in such a field as the theory of political parties.
Notes
- М. Ostrogorsky M. The constitutional evolution of England over the past half century - Petrograd, 1916. - 183 p.
Links
- Ostrogorsky, Moses Yakovlevich // The Brockhaus and Efron Jewish Encyclopedia . - SPb. 1908-1913.
- Biography (not available link)
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- Medushevsky A. N. Problems of modern democracy // in the book: Ostrogorsky M. Ya. Democracy and political parties. M., 1997.