In this highly original study, Victor Leontovitsch offers a reinterpretation of liberalism in a uniquely Russian form. He documents the struggles to develop civil society and individual liberties in imperial Russia up until their ultimate demise in the face of war, revolution, and the collapse of the old regime.This is the first English-language translation of Leontovitsch's monumental work, which was originally published to critical acclaim in German in 1957.