The Development of the Idea of the Rights and Freedoms of the Individual in the Political and Legal Heritage of the Russian Conservative Liberal Theorists

This article explores the ideological roots of modern liberal-conservative thought in Russia. The author analyzes the work of key theorists of the Russian conservative liberalism of the 19th century concerning their comprehension of the concept of individual rights. The work is based on the analysis of the main works of representatives of this school of socio-political thought as well as on the review of scientific literature. The author refers to the political and legal heritage of M.M. Speransky, early Slavophiles, K.D. Kavelin, B.N. Chicherin and A.D. Gradovsky, and examines how the concept of individual rights changed and developed in different thinkers. The study comes to the conclusion that the idea of individual rights and freedoms has not lost any of its relevance within conservative liberalism to the present day. The results of the study may also be useful for understanding the history and evolution of Russian political thought and the theory of human rights.