“A Joint Spirit of Emulation”: The Idea of Competition in the Work of the Free Economic Society

This article examines the meaning ofthe notion of “emulation” and related notions for the
members ofthe Free Economic Society (VEO). Based on an analysis ofthe sociocultural
context and texts by VEO members, it is concluded that emulation as one of the key virtues of the new era, was widely held to be capable ofpositively transforming the lives of individuals and society. Such ideas were institutionalized in the VEO’s scientific contests, whose goal was generating new knowledge and engaging Russian people of various social statuses in scientific work.