A conservative, revolution and status quo

The author reviews the recently published diary of the well-known Russian conservative ideologist Lev Tikhomirov (1852-1923). He comes to the conclusion that Tikhomirov always remained an opponent of the political status quo and was spoke in favor of the ideal autocracy, in which the Tsar while holding an absolute power stays permanently connected with his loyal subjects. From Tikhomirov's point of view, the most important opponent to such a perspective was the bureaucracy, which became the intermediary between the autocrat and his people and prevented the direct contact between them. He thought that the Fundamental Laws of 1906 strengthened high ranking bureaucrats, while depriving the Tsar of a bigger part of his political weight. For Tikhomirov, the bureaucracy turned to be the main winner of the Revolution of 1905. Thus, the political order as its product needed reconstruction, which ought to weakenthe influence of the bureaucrats and to strengthen that of the Monarch.