The idea of freedom of conscience in the views of liberal legalists in the Russian Empire: from theory to practice. Second half of the XIX – early XX century

In the Russian Empire in the second half of the XIX century, issues of freedom of conscience and religion became a matter of some urgency. Orthodox Christians enjoyed complete freedom, as did some large non-Orthodox denominations with certain restrictions. At the same time, a number of large religious groups and all sects were subjected to various restrictions to a greater or lesser extent. This discrimination, accompanied by an attack on religious rights, especially intensified in the 1880-ies and 1890-ies. This policy was met with protest from the liberal intelligentsia of Russia. Its leaders unanimously insisted on the immediate equalization of the rights of all religious groups. Moreover, they proceeded not only from European ideas about human rights, but also from the principle of reasonableness. They assumed that the equalization of rights and Christian preaching would help stabilize the public sphere and build a more just society. The state ignored these ideas and continued to intensify the attack on the rights of religious groups. This did not suit many, including liberal lawyers. Most of them can be considered conservative liberals – legalists, supporters of monarchical legality while respecting human rights. They considered freedom of conscience to be a basic human right. This determined their high activity in protecting this right. In our study, we study the practices of the legalist movement, consider the tools of influence on the highest power to expand the use of freedom of conscience in the empire. Considering legalism, we chose the chronological approach as the main method, trying to trace the evolution of the behavior of legalists from scientific justification to judicial protection of freedom of conscience. Such a reconstruction in relation to the legalist movement is carried out for the first time and contributes to historical knowledge. A number of conclusions can be formulated. Legalists, having perceived the fullness of the principle of freedom of conscience, tried with all their might, in the legal field, to implement them. They saw the main way of such implementation only in the use of judicial power. With the help of the Senate, they managed, in part, to slow down the mass repressions that the state unleashed against rebellious confessions and sectarians who did not want to accept Orthodoxy