The present article is devoted to the study of political views of one of the representatives of late Slavophilism – F.D. Samarin. The author mainly focuses on Samarin’s attitude to the idea of Zemsky Sobor that was very popular in Russian public circles in the beginning of the 20th century, and on his views on the possibility of the introduction in Russia of a representative body, even if only of deliberative nature. That issue was very important for Samarin as Slavophile, as he’d accumulated great experience of practical work in Zemstva. The author shows the sources of Samarin’s skepticism regarding the concept of representation and turns to the analysis of his own reformative ideas that he offered as alternatives to constitutional reforms and introduction of a new law-making deliberative body. The author pays special attention to Samarin’s attitude to the autocratic monarchy and his belief that the monarch could grant various freedoms to his subjects (freedom of religion, freedom of press, freedom form administrative and police despotism) while still remaining autocratic and not restricting his power by adopting constitution and formation of the Parliament.
