Page:The Russian Review Volume 1.djvu/296

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
264
THE RUSSIAN REVIEW

tion the undisputed heritage of Kovalevsky, who extended the sphere of his activity in this direction to the transatlantic Republic. For two decades he stood before the world as a striking representative of the cultural side of Russia, a constant reminder of Russia's unlimited intellectual possibilities.

The political upheaval of 1905 brought Kovalevsky back to his native land. A new sun was rising over Russia, and Kovalevsky, who had done so much to kindle its flames, was one of the first to welcome the dawn. The dream of his life was at last about to be realized. Russia was to have the constitutional government for which he had yearned and pined with every thought of his country's political bondage. He came to Russia in 1906, and was elected to the first Douma. Disqualified as a candidate for election to the second Douma, he was elected by the Russian Academy and the universities as their representative in the Upper Chamber, the Council of the Empire, where he remained until his death.

Deprived, for twenty years, of active participation in the public life of his country, Kovalevsky, upon his return to Russia, seemed to be feverishly eager to make up for lost time. The extent and the many-sidedness of his activity is simply amazing. He lectured at the Petrograd University, at the Institute of Polytechnology, at the Psycho-neurological Institute, took an active part, as a member, in the work of the Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the Council of the Empire, was President of the Free Economic Society, presided over dozens of other scientific bodies, was publisher and editor of the best Russian monthly magazine, the Viestnik Evropy, contributed to many scientific and general journals both in Russia and in other countries, and was one of the editors of the Brockhaus and the Granat Encyclopaedias. The above list does not exhaust all the manifold duties that he undertook and bore cheerfully to the very end. In the course of the past few months his duties had increased, largely because of added work in connection with the War. While never active in politics in the ranks of any particular party, he took a very active part in the formation of the progressive bloc. He was the organizer and the president of the Society of the English Flag, and of many other similar organizations.

Kovalevsky occupied a unique position in the Council of the Empire. From the time he entered it, he alligned himself with the progressive element of the upper chamber. There was not a single important question discussed in the Council without Kovalevsky's participation in the discussion, and everything he said was heard with profound attention by his friends and his enemies. His great name, his extensive erudition, and his rare powers of oratory made him one of the most welcome speakers on the tribune of the Council. Almost always his speeches were really lectures on progressive politics, and it was strange, indeed, to hear those ideas of civilization and progress in the very stronghold of Russia's reactionary tendencies in politics. It is true that the President of the Council often stopped