Background
Goltsev Victor Aleksandrovich was born on August 11, 1850, in Kolomna, Moscow, Russian Federation.
(Russian edition)
Russian edition
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Goltsev Victor Aleksandrovich was born on August 11, 1850, in Kolomna, Moscow, Russian Federation.
In 1868 Viktor Alexandrovich graduated from the Tula Gymnasium with a gold medal. Then, in 1872 he graduated from the Law Faculty of Moscow University.
Viktor Alexandrovich was engaged in doctoral studies and preparing for the professorship at the university in the department of financial law in Paris, Heidelberg, Vienna, Leipzig from September 1875 till October 1877. From Paris, Viktor Alexandrovich sent a letter to the journal “Vperyod” protesting against preaching the revolutionary-violent methods of establishing political freedom. Goltsev believed that "it is necessary first of all to create... a constitution that enables workers to unite and move forward illuminated by the light of science" for Russia. In October 1878 Victor defended his master's thesis.
In the spring of 1878, Viktor Alexandrovich was selected to be an assistant professor at Moscow University, but his position was not approved. Since spring 1879 was elected as an assistant professor at Novorossiysk University (Odessa) however, in August Viktor Alexandrovich was forced to resign. In February 1881, he was finally approved as an assistant professor at the Moscow University, opened the course (The Doctrine of Management), but in August 1882, he again resigned.
Viktor Alexandrovich collaborated in the journal Free Word (Volnoe slovo) In 1887-1888 he was a member of the Moscow organization Self-government. He was the author of the unpublished article Zemsky Sobor (the 1880s)
In 1878 began his literary work. Since 1879 Viktor Alexandrovich was cooperating as a journalist and literary critic in the Moscow newspaper Russky Courier, (he was one of the editors in 1882-1883), Moscow Telegraph (1881-1883), Courier (1899-1904), and in the Saint Petersburg newspaper Voice (Golos) (1881-1882) and Poryadok (1881).
Since the founding of the journal Russian Thought (1880) (Russkaya Misl’) he took an active part at working on it. Since March 1885 Viktor Alexandrovich was unofficial editor-in-chief, but from April 1905 became official. He had as his goal the unification of the various movements of the opposition on the basis of the constitutional idea. As a result, he provided pages for works of Slavophiles and Westerners, populists and liberals, positivists, and materialists in the journal, covering political and cultural phenomena.
As an editor, Viktor Alexandrovich contributed to the appearance on the journal’s pages of the works of N. Leskov, M. Gorky, V. Garshin, V. Korolenko, D. Mamin-Sibiryak, A. Ertel and especially A. Chekhov. With the help of Viktor Alexandrovich, "Russian Thought" became not only the most popular Russian journal but also one of the centers of the literary and social life of the late 19th - early 20th centuries. Viktor Alexandrovich periodically led the main sections of the journal like an internal review, foreign review, scientific review.
Viktor Alexandrovich was a member of the Moscow Law Society (in 1882-1888 a comrade chairman), the Society of Lovers of Russian Literature (from 1880; in 1905-1906 temporary chairman), the Moscow Psychological Society. In the spring of 1906, he was elected privat-docent of Moscow University.
(Russian edition)
In 1893-1894 Viktor Alexandrovich joined the revolutionary-democratic party "People’s Law" (Narodnoe pravo). He was suspected of "intercourse with the revolutionaries". Victor was arrested. In June 1884 was brought to Saint Petersburg in the case of K. Stanyukovich and other employees of journal Case (Delo) (released in September). The second arrest took place in October 1888 (duration was three weeks); was involved in the case of the distribution in Moscow of the illegal journal Self-government. Viktor Alexandrovich was repeatedly under the secret surveillance of the police.
Being an orator, lecturer, polemicist, Viktor Alexandrovich was very upset because of the prohibition of public lectures and speeches. He had as his goal the unification of the various movements of the opposition on the basis of the constitutional idea. As a result, Viktor Alexandrovich provided pages for works of Slavophiles and Westerners, populists and liberals, positivists, and materialists in the journal, covering political and cultural phenomena.
Viktor Alexandrovich believed in the "requirement to respect human dignity, to ensure freedom of thought and speech, to create context favorable for the comprehensive development of the individual ..."
Defended the democratic character of the Russian intelligentsia.
According to his social-philosophical views, Viktor Alexandrovich was a positivist. He developed an idealistic doctrine of "ideas-forces" which were the driving factors of social evolution. In the article On Economic Materialism, Viktor Alexandrovich expressed his critical attitude towards Marxism.
Goltsev 's worldview and activity supported, on the one hand, opposition to the revolution, and, on the other hand, open sympathy for members of the "Narodnaya Volya". His views comprised the desire for objectivity and the commitment to the limited ideological program of "Russian Thought", loyalty to the aesthetic ideal of the positivist sense, and the recognition of new trends in realistic literature of the late 19th century.
Quotations: "I want to see in the enemy an individual, I want to meet his opinion, understand him and argue with him actively, in case of disagreement, but I do not want to insult him personally."
In any polemic, no matter how principled and sharp it was, Viktor Alexandrovich maintained a kind of "gentleness". He was an open-mind person, ready for new ideas.