N. Mikhailovsky’s liberal socialism in the context of the past and the future

The article reveals the scientific and socio-political views of N.K. Mikhailovsky, analyzes and highlights the evolution of his thoughts and ideas in the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries against the background of an acute socio-political struggle to determine the future path of development of Russia in the crucial post-reform era and the search for the best socio-governmental system. Being a socialist populist, N. Mikhailovsky always advocated the priority of the interests of the creative personality over public and state institutions. But at the same time, he rejected grossly unequal barrack socialism because of its disrespect for the interests of the individual, revolutionary violence, and consistently advocated for the expansion of democratic transformations and the rights of citizens in the future social structure of Russia. The dialectical-materialistic method served as the methodological basis of the work. The scientific novelty of the article is determined by the established connection of N. Mikhailovsky’s advanced ideas about a versatile personality and forms of its self-realization with the current ways of building a democratic, post-capitalist society. The relevance of his ideas is emphasized not only for the present, but also for the future.