Contrary to the popular belief that liberalism is something completely new, brought into the Russian culture by influences from the West, liberal political views in Russia have a very long history. Usually, the arrival of these political views in our country is usually dated to the middle of the 18th century, when the first thoughts about freedom began to creep into the minds of the most enlightened citizens of the state. The most prominent representative of the first generation of liberals in Russia is considered to be M.M. Speransky.
But, if you think about it, liberalism is almost as ancient as Christianity, and even as ancient Greek philosophers. After all, when it comes from the Greek word for freedom, liberal political views, first of all, imply the value of this freedom itself as the greatest gift in the power of man. And we are talking not only about the internal freedom of the individual, but also the freedom of the citizen from the state. This implies the state’s non-interference in any private affairs of its citizens, the ability to freely express their political views, the lack of censorship and dictatorship on the part of the country's leaders, which was preached both by ancient philosophers and the first adherents of Christianity.
By personal freedom, people who preach liberal views understand the freedom of self-realization, as well as the freedom to resist any force emanating from outside. If a person is not internally free, this will inevitably lead to his collapse as a person, because external interference can easily break him. The liberals consider the consequence of lack of freedom to increase aggression, the lack of the ability to adequately assess key worldview concepts, such as truth, good, evil.
In addition, liberal political views also imply freedom of choice, which should be guaranteed by the state. Freedom of choice of residence, occupation, movement, and others - these are the foundations on which any liberal government should adhere. Moreover, for the adherents of liberalism, even the slightest manifestation of aggression is unacceptable - any changes in the state should be achieved only in an evolutionary, peaceful way. A revolution in any form is already a violation of the freedom of some citizens by others, and, therefore, it is unacceptable for those who profess liberal political views. In Russia, the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the liberals lost precisely because they expected reforms from the government that would help transform the country without bloodshed. But, unfortunately, this path of development of the state was rejected by the monarchy, the result of which was the revolution.
Thus, to summarize, we can say that liberal political views are such a system of values, worldview ideas and ideological concepts based on exceptional respect for freedom as the highest value. The political and economic rights of a citizen, the possibility of free entrepreneurial activity throughout the country, the lack of total control by the state of its citizens, the democratization of society — these are the main features of liberalism as a political system of views.
To implement such a system, a clear separation of the branches of power is necessary in order to avoid its concentration in the hands of individuals or oligarchies. Therefore, clearly expressed and independent from each other, the executive, judicial and legislative powers are an integral attribute of any state living under liberal laws. Given this, as well as the fact that in almost all democratic countries of the world freedom and human rights are the highest value, we can safely say that it was liberalism that became the basis for the creation of modern statehood.
