A question which occupies many people in the West, and not only historians, is the following: why did liberalism fail in Russia? Had there been no possibility for a gradual development towards a constitutional monarchy which many Western countries had shown, though perhaps over a prolonged period of time? The author has chosen the life of a well-known lawyer, Vasilii Maklakov, to show how one person has tried to realize and put into practice the road towards such a gradual development. Vasilii Alekseevich Maklakov was one of the foremost lawyers and politicians of pre-revolutionary Russia. A convinced liberal who gave all his forces to set in motion a democratic development from 1904 onwards. He ended his career as ambassador of the Provisional Government in Paris where he played a significant role as unofficial leader and spokesman of the Russian emigration. Anthony Kröner has a degree in chemistry from Leyden University and a PhD in Russian history from Amsterdam University. His previous books are: “ The debate between Miliukov and Maklakov on the fate of Russian liberalism” and the widely acclaimed biography of the last commander of the White armies in Russia “ The White Knight of the Black Sea The life of General Peter Wrangel”.
