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There are quite a number of works where authors want to understand what Freemasonry is and offer different interpretations of this theme. In this book the author, considering the Russian historiography on the eighteenth-century Masonic issue from the beginning to the middle of the twentieth century as an example, focuses, mostly, on the works of authors of liberal and nationalist-monarchist tendencies in the Russian historiography which most vividly represent both viewpoints on eighteenth-century Russian Freemasonry. This study considers Catherine II´s reign as a context. In this framework it identifies the particular aims of the representatives of liberal and nationalist-monarchist views in using different interpretations of the history of Russian Freemasonry and the activity of Novikov´s circle. In the same way it analyzes the range of questions that the representatives of different tendencies posed in their works. These authors, built their hypothesis on the Masonic issue and expressed their points of view, to a certain extent, influenced the public opinion of the Russian society. The study should be useful for anyone who is interested in studying of Freemasonry.

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Yelena Kharitonova, MA: Studied History at Central European University. Office manager at Nokia Siemens Networks, Baku, Azerbaijan.

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