«Let’s Talk about Just Two Russian Scientific Societies»: N.S. Leskov on the Free Economic Society and on the Russian Geographical Society

The article analyses the publications by a prominent Russian author, Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov (1831-1895), which examined the activities of the two oldest Russian scientific societies, the Free Economic Society (‘VEO’) and the Russian Geographical Society
(‘RGO’). Written in the early 1860s, they reflected the shift in the mood of the liberal public
in the post-reform period. In his 1861 publications, N.S. Leskov enthusiastically praised
the work of the RGO’s Politico-Economic Committee and the VEO’s Literacy Committee.
His articles expressed hope for a successful resolution of the most difficult problems in
“national economy and education” through the combined efforts of scholars, public figures, and government officials. On the contrary, in Leskov’s 1863 articles, enthusiasm
and optimism gave way to disappointment and sarcasm while the VEO and the RGO were
slightingly referred to as “Russian talkshops [‘govoril’ni’]” whose work was meaningless.
N.S. Leskov’s articles about the VEO and the RGO are important not only as part of his
journalistic legacy but can also be regarded as historical sources on the history of Russia’s oldest scientific societies.