The theory of progress of P.L. Lavrov

The paper discusses the elaboration of the views on the problem of progress of P.L. Lavrov, one of the founders of Russian sociology of the 19th - early 20th centuries. Generalization of a wide factual material and identification of the main trends of its development become increasingly relevant in the modern researches on the history of Russian sociology. The classification of the theories of progress is discussed by Russian sociologist as an attempt to generalize opinion, perception of the place of ideas and theory of progress in sociological science of that time, the subject and tasks of sociology of the essence, the criteria, the ideal and the mechanism (sources, factors, driving forces, conditions, subjects, and nature of development) of the progressive historical development, the place of the thinker’s views in the further development of the problem is assessed. It is concluded that the theory under consideration belongs to nominalist positivist evaluative theories of progress.