M.A. BALUGYANSKY’S REFORMMATIVE IDEAS AND POLITICS: TO THE 250th ANNIVERSARY OF HIS BIRTH

Abstract

This article is dedicated to the 250th anniversary of the birth of Mikhail Andreevich Balugyansky, a prominent scientist and statesman of Rusinian descent (1769–1847), who made a significant contribution to the development of Russian humanities, higher education and public administration by developing a number of important reforms and codification of Russian legislation during the reign of Alexander I and Nicholas I. Having analysed and collated M.A. Balugyansky’s theoretical views of the state, law, economy and society, the authors conclude about their correlation with those of Joseph Sonnenfels, Adam Smith, and the Physiocrats. They emphasize M.A. Balugyansky’s commitment to the capitalist model of development, which he reinforced with his own insights. M.A. Balugyansky applied his theoretical positions to practice. The article focuses on two of his projects – on finance and on state peasants, which had the systemic nature and exerted a strong impact on the subsequent reformative projects. Analyzing these projects as well as challenges of their promotion, the authors conclude that their implementation was limited by the historical conditions of the Russian absolutist state with its inert bureaucracy and dominant noble landlord class. In this regard, the authors argue that M.A. Balugyansky was a forward-thinker, so it was only later that his progressive ideas and reformative activities could be successfully implemented.