Theoretical and practical significance of the maxim M. Kovalevsky's theory of democratization for political modernization of the Russian society

M. Kovalevsky left a great investment in the development of the Russian political sociology and political sciences. He gave a lot of attention to political ideas, political institutions and processes. These issues interested him in a double aspect: firstly, as a historian and theorist of political thought in terms of the functional approach and secondly, as a sociologist thinking of social attitudes. This combination allowed him to carry out a deep analysis of problems of the political life in the community dynamics. This experience is extremely relevant for today's science which has forgotten its history and lost the fundamental basis of the analysis due to the enthusiasm of postmodern methodology. This article tries to identify the significance of the theory of democratization of M.M. Kovalevsky for modern Russia. The authors identify a number of key ideas of M.M. Kovalevsky on the laws of political and social development. Among these conclusions there are ideas about the role of local government, the inviolability of the person, freedom of speech, civil rights and liberties in the history of various countries and Russia. In the context of the transformation of the modern Russian society, these ideas have become especially important, as a possible vector of political modernization.