Vasilii Malinovskii

Born 1765; died Mar. 23 (Apr. 4), 1814, in St. Petersburg. Russian publicist and Enlightenment figure.

The son of a priest, Malinovskii graduated from Moscow University in 1781. He served in the diplomatic corps. In 1811 he was appointed first director of the Tsarskoe Selo lycée, where he created a freedom-loving atmosphere and helped educate future progressive writers and political figures. His most important work, A Discourse on Peace and War (1790-98), condemns aggressive politics and calls for a general and just peace among nations.

In a number of his works and in his journal Osennie vechera (1803, nos. 1-8), Malinovskii advocated democracy and the equality of all peoples and nations. He encouraged the industrial and cultural development of Russia, and he shared M. N. Speranskii’s plans for administrative reforms. In his memorandum “On the Emancipation of the Slaves” (1802, published 1958), Malinovskii proposed one of the first plans for the abolition of serfdom. He was a critic of the official Orthodox Church. The limitations of his social and historical views were manifested in his enthusiasm for religious mysticism.