The article is devoted to the intellectual search of Russian conservatives in the late 1870s – early 1880s. It is about the understanding the nature of the political crisis at the end of the reign of Alexander II, as well as the prospects for overcoming it. In essence, this refers to the folding system of ideas that formed the intellectual basis of the government policy of the times of Alexander III. Disputes continue in historiography whether the transformations carried out in those years can be interpreted as counter-reforms. The author disputes this point of view. If we keep in mind the goal-setting of the authors of that time, their mood, then it would be more accurate to talk about the ideology of counter-revolution, which was shared by many representatives of bureaucratic spheres.

The article is devoted to the formation of liberal political parties at the beginning of the XX century, the proto-party period in their history and the social nature of such associations. It is noted the natural connection of party structures with the circle culture that logically preceded them. At the same time, the emerging organizations were formed in the conditions of revolutionary cataclysms and largely responded to the challenges of the time.

The article is devoted to the political and legal thought of Russian émigré in 1920–1930. In the focus of the article there are the concepts of state, democracy, empire that were reflected by the followers of the different political ideologies. They interpreted the experience of Russian empire, Russian revolution trying to predict the future of political systems in Europe. It helped them to make radical conclusions that were too far from the former intellectual tradition.

The article is devoted to the political projects of Russian émigré in 1920–1930. Its representatives tried to analyze their experience in Russia. Either they did their best to offer their vision of the future of Russia and Europe. Their way of thinking was non-standard and quite wide that helped them to define the challenges of the times and show the tendency of law and state evolution.

The article is devoted to the political parties in Russia in the beginning of the XXth century: its origins, structure, programs, tactics. The author bound the Russian multy-party system with the society conditions, its stratification, the specific of the intellectual processes in the country. Тhe definition of the parties was formulated. It can be used in regard to the reality of the beginning of XXth century. Finally, the authors targeted the research perspectives of the parties in the Russian empire.

The article is devoted to the formation of the social movement in Russia, its modes and practices. In the article the social movement was defined firstly in the historiography. The authors distinguished the phases of the social movement and characterized them. They paid attention to the contemporary historiography situation and projected the perspectives of the further researches.