RUSSIAN FREEMASONRY: A NEW DAWN
an overview from 1731 to 1996
by Richard L. Rhoda
This paper is dedicated to Most Worshipful Brother George
Dergachev, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Russia, and his 108 Brethren
Russian Freemasonry began and grew in a period of Russian
history similar to that of the present day. The great war with Sweden, which
drew heavily upon the resources of the country, had just been terminated by
Peter the Great, and his sweeping reforms were bringing great changes to the
whole Russian life. The old culture of Russia was being uprooted, and the dawn
of a new history was just breaking.1
Bro. Boris Telepneff, 19222
While 1995 was the 175th anniversary of the celebration of the Grand Lodge of
Maine, it also marked the rebirth of the Grand Lodge of Russia for the first
time in 173 years. It was constituted by the Grand Lodge Nationale Française on
June 24, 1995 in Moscow.
At the suggestion of Grand Master Walter Macdougal, this paper has been prepared
to suggest the challenge of considering what Maine Masons can do to assist in
ensuring the survival and growth of Russian Masonry at this time.
Many will be aghast and unbelieving of such a suggestion. Strong will be the
sentiment and pronouncements from certain quarters that we should do nothing,
while others will say do nothing now but wait and see, and most curmudgeonly of
all will be those who will say wait until they seek us out for recognition.
How long might we have to wait before the Masons of the Grand Lodge of Russia
decide that they wish to be recognized by the Grand Lodge of Maine? Somehow I
suspect that the few brave Russian Freemasons will have much more on their minds
for years to come. Really, what is the State of Maine in the eyes of a Russian?
Almost guaranteedly an unequivocal Unheard of!
With no offense to the many Grand Lodges in Brazil or Mexico, how many Maine
Masons know of those various Grand Lodges or feel a need to reach out to them?
With no national grand lodge in those countries, as here in the United States of
America, Masonic recognition can be very slow in coming and perhaps only then
because it is part of a wave when other grand lodges are doing it.
The Masonic issue for us has to be what can we do today to help ensure the
successful rebirth and growth of Freemasonry in Russia! Formal recognition and
all that good stuff can and will come in time, if Russian Freemasonry succeeds.
But if it does not, when might the light be rekindled?
Russian Freemasonry has been reconstituted by the Grand Lodge Nationale
Francaise with which we are in fraternal relations. We could sit in lodge with
one of those Russian Freemasons and not be in violation of our Masonic
obligations. So, why not reach out and correspond, encourage, and assist these
Russian brethren if we can? Would not one of their lodges, or better yet another
new lodge, appreciate receiving a used set of officers' jewels or aprons that
one of our lodges no longer needs? Would one of our lodges be interested in
purchasing two dozen white cloth aprons or gloves as a gift for one of the
lodges? There is much we could do in the finest tradition of Masonic Brotherhood
and Charity.
Getting off the bully pulpit, let us take a brief look at the history of
Freemasonry in Russia. This must be brief and detached from Russian history
which profoundly affected its existence and demise. Yet, a few lines about the
country's leaders are necessary to start to understand the conditions and
circumstances under which Freemasonry existed.
Today our own Freemasonry is well established with no fractious bodies and
eccentric leaders. Our Freemasonry is not derived from tablets of orthodoxy
existing from time immemorial. While our system with its concordant bodies
functions smoothly and without question in this day and age, such was not always
the case. This observation is made so that we do not look too askance at the
history of Russian Freemasonry which underwent birth and growing pains not
unlike our own. The albatross for the Russians were their totalitarian rulers
who were the norm for Europe at that time. Democracy as America brought to the
world in 1776 with its Declaration of Independence was unknown and soon greatly
feared. The French Revolution instilled fear throughout Europe. We must remember
that it is only now that the seeds of true democracy are trying to catch hold
and grow and be pursued to reach their ideals in Russia.
Peter the Great, the reformer, brought about the Imperial Age of Russia. He was
the grandson of Michael Romanov, the founder of that line which ruled Russia
from 1613 to 1917. Peter opened Russia to the west, embracing its ideas and
seeking association with it. He traveled throughout Europe and sent students to
study and learn its ways. He built a city on the Baltic Sea, St. Petersburg,
better known in our life times as Leningrad, which became Russia's window to the
west. He moved its government there from Moscow, the historical capital of
Russia since the mid-thirteenth century.
Peter the Great was co-tsar from 1682 to 1689 with his half-brother, Ivan V. He
was but 10 years old when ascending the thrown from which he solely ruled from
1694 to his death in 1725. One Russian tradition has it that Peter became a
Mason on a trip to England and brought it back to Russia. There is no hard
evidence of this and most likely it is but another example of trying to gain
acceptability by reference to association with a revered leader. It must be
remembered that organized speculative Masonry had only existed in England for
eight years before Peter died. Peter's greatest contribution to Russian
Freemasonry is that he made it possible by opening up Russia to foreign
merchants who settled and traded in Russia.
The most influential group of foreigners in Russia in the eighteenth century
were the Germans from their various states who were connected with the Romanov
family. Also of significant importance, both masonically and politically, were
the Sweds who were a dominant political power in Northern Europe.
The period following Peter's death until 1762 saw a series of five leaders who
are of no great significance to us except for their German influence. Anne,
1730-1740, was a sister of Peter the Great, and the widow of the Duke of
Courland. Peter III, 1762, a grandson of Peter the Great, was the Duke of
Holstein-Gattorp, and ruled but a few months before being overthrown in a palace
coup and replaced by his German wife, Katherine, Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst. She
would rule until 1796, become known as Katherine the Great, and cause the first
blows to fall on Russian Freemasonry.
As with English Freemasonry, little or nothing is known of the earliest lodges
in Russia. They were most certainly in St. Petersburg and Moscow and were formed
by foreigners, English or German.
Following the birth of speculative Masonry in London in 1717, grand lodges were
formed in Ireland in 1730, Scotland in 1736, and in various continental
countries. Those grand lodges were wont to appoint Provincial Grand Masters over
vast territories to expand their authority wherever their people settled.
The earliest reliable information about Russian Freemasonry was the appointment
by the Grand Lodge of England of Captain John Phillips in 1731 as the Provincial
Grand Master of Russia. This would have empowered him to establish lodges in
Russia which would have been ultimately under the control of London. No further
information is known of him or of what he did, although it is speculated that he
was a merchant captain.
The next Provincial Grand Master was General James Keith who was appointed in
1740 or 1741. He was of a celebrated Scottish family but made the mistake of
supporting Charles Edward Stuart, Pretender to the Throne of England. He fled to
Spain and eventually to Russia in 1828. He served its leaders with distinction
while attaining the highest military honors. In 1747 he left Russia to serve
Frederick the Great of Prussia.
While the earliest masonic lodges in Russia generally were formed by foreigners,
under Keith Masonry started to move into Russian society where its members were
mostly young officers from the best families.
In 1756, under Empress Elizabeth (1741-1762), a daughter of Peter the Great who
lead a reaction to foreign influences, Russian Freemasonry met an obstacle when
the Secret Chancellery of the Empire made an inquiry into what was the
foundation of and who constituted its membership. The inquiry says first that
Freemasonry was defined by its members as 'nothing else but the key of
friendship and of eternal brotherhood'.3
Masonry was found not to be dangerous and it was allowed to continue, although
under police protection. Until this time, Masonry had existed as a fraternal
brotherhood of no exceptional interest to the government except for its foreign
influence. It was under Katherine the Great that Russian Freemasonry was to
bloom with its own national leaders and organization. Under her, the first
suppression of masonry would begin.
The first prominent Russian Freemason was Ivan Perfilievich Yelaguin
(1725-1794), Senator, Privy-Counsellor etc. etc. He belonged to an ancient
family of Russian noblemen and enjoyed the confidence of Katherine the Great
(1762-1796). In June 1771, the Lodge of Perfect Unity was constituted in
Petersburg by the Grand Lodge of England and drew its members mostly from
English merchants who lived there. Many Russian nobles were also masons and they
requested that the Grand Lodge of England issue a warrant for Yelaguin to be the
Provincial Grand Master in the Russian Empire. This was done and the English
system of Masonry met with great success and growth under his leadership. In
1770, Yelaguin had been elected Grand Master of the Grand Provincial Lodge of
Russia under the auspices of the Berlin Grand Lodge, Royal York. On February 28,
1772, he was appointed by the United Grand Lodge of England as Provincial Grand
Master of the Empire of Russia. Under Yelaguin, members of the best Russian
families joined the craft.
In his memoirs, Yelaguin described early Russian Freemasonry as rather
superficial: 'The worship of Minerva was often followed by the feasts of
Bacchus'.4 Yelaguin considered of paramount
importance the Masonic teachings of self-knowledge, moral perfection,
benevolence, charity and virtue.5
Throughout the 18th century, Freemasonry developed down several avenues,
especially on the Continent and in Russia. Orthodox Craft-Masonry from England
was known as Yelaguin's System. Its chief rival was the Zinnendorf System which
emanated from Sweden and came to Russia via Berlin and a Bro. George Reichel. To
the three blue lodge degrees the later system added certain Knightly Degrees
which in Russia were felt to possess some mysterious knowledge.
In 1777, Grand Duke Paul Peter, son and political adversary of his mother,
Empress Katherine, was initiated into Freemasonry by the King of Sweden who came
to Petersburg for the occasion. By 1778 the major influence in Russian masonry
was shifting to Moscow and that of St. Petersburg was declining. This was at a
time when the Craft was faced with warrants from several different authorities
and practiced many differing rites. There was no unifying national soul to
Russian Freemasonry.
Nicholas V. Riasanovsky, in A History of Russia, writes that during the reign of
Katherine the Great, Russian Freemasonry reached a zenith of about 2,500 members
in some one hundred lodges in St. Petersburg, Moscow and some provincial towns.
He further writes that in addition to the contribution made by Freemasonry to
the life of polite society, which constituted probably its principal attraction
to most members, specialists distinguish two main trends within that movement in
eighteenth century Russia: the mystical, and the ethical and social. The first
concentrated on such commendable but illusive and essentially individual goals
as contemplation and self-perfection. The second reached out to the world and
thus constituted the active wing of the movement.6)
The mystical aspect of Russian Freemasonry came through the Rosicrucians who
were Christian mystics and students of mystical and occult lore. They were
sometimes called Martinists, from the great respect which they at one time held
for the teachings of Louis Claude de St. Martin. At this time the Rosicrucian
movement became dominant in Russian Masonry with one of its leaders being
Nicholas Novikov (1744-1816), who was perhaps the most active publicist in
Moscow. He, along with I. G. Schwarz, were prime movers in the Moscow period of
Russian Masonry.
Mysticism permeated Russia during the reign of Katherine with St. Petersburg's
fashionable society leading the way. The traditions of Russian Masonry and the
Rosicrucian of the 18th century included: the practice of Christian virtues and
self-improvement, philanthropy, Christian mysticism, and opposition to atheism,
materialisms, and revolutionary tendencies.
Especially after 1782, the Rosicrucian movement was spread by I. G. Schwarz in
Russia. He had gained the recognition of the independence of Russian Masonry
from the Swedish system. In July 1782, he attended a Masonic Convention in
Wilhelmsbad held by the Duke of Braunschweig, Grand Master of the Rite of Strict
Observance. He also obtained from German Rosicrucians the authority to promote
the Order in Russia.
In 1783 Schwarz broke from the Duke of Braunschweig and Russian Masons joined
the main body of the Rosicrucian brotherhood7
which became a dominant influence in Russian Masonry for some time.
The Rosicrucians relied on the lower Masonic degrees for a new brother to learn
of his vices and shortcomings. He was to become a better man through
instructions in science and ethics while being delivered from the seven deadly
sins of pride, arrogance, gluttony, lust, greediness, laziness and anger. After
he regained for himself the prelapsarian state of man, he could pursue a mystic
union with God in the higher grades of the order.
In 1784 Schwarz died and the fortunes of Russian Freemasonry would not survive
his loss. A board of three plus two elected Grand Wardens oversaw the Craft and
it even developed and spread into provinces but intrigue and suspicion brought
it down.
In the 1780's two other factors played in the demise of Russian Freemasonry. As
Peter III had been very favorably disposed towards Freemasonry, Katherine was
somewhat hostile to any favorites of her late husband. Since the estrangement
from the Grand Lodge of England, Russian Freemasonry had become too much
associated with German Masonry which was under the leadership of Frederick the
Great of Prussia, arch-enemy of Katherine.
Katherine's leading political rival was her son, Grand Duke Paul, who was her
open enemy. If he in fact was not a Mason he was favorably inclined towards the
Craft, at least the symbolic lodges. He was Grand Master of the Knights of Malta
which had a rivalry with the Masonic Templar degrees.
The Masonic Rosicrucian leader, Nicholas Novikov had a prominent bookship in
Moscow. Following a raid on it in 1786, books on Masonry were declared to be
more dangerous than those of the French Encyclopaedists . This was in spite of a
decision by the Metropolitan of the Russian Church in Moscow that the books,
some 461 works, were all faithful to the church. At this time the schools and
hospitals sponsored by the Masons were taken away from their control.
In 1787 a terrible famine swept over Russia. The Masons organized the most
effectual help for the stricken population through the efforts of Novikov who
formed a society especially for that purpose. There were fears that some Masons
were trying to acquire popularity among the masses for political purposes
through their charity.
Prior to 1790, Katherine had presented a front of being favorable to the
teachings of the Enlightment and of Voltaire but she became frightened by the
French Revolution. Novikov was supportive of a book by Alexander Radishchev,
Journey from Petersburg to Moscow, which showed the terrible plight of the
Russian peasants. Radisheckev's call for the reform and emancipation of the
serfs was the final straw and the pendulum swung back from any liberal views
that Katherine had been masquerading behind.
In April 1782, secret societies were prohibited by the government but Masonry
had not been subject to the regulation. In 1791, the General Governor of Moscow
undertook to suppress Masonry. Novikov was arrested and confined while others
received milder punishments. By 1794, Katherine made it known to her statesmen
who she knew belonged that the Craft did not meet with her approval. While there
was no open prohibition to the Craft many lodges in St. Petersburg voluntarily
closed in compliance with the desire of Katherine. Yelaguin issued an Order
closing all of his English orientated lodges which had generally opposed the
Rosicrucian influence.
With the accession of Paul I to the throne in 1796 he abolished the sentences
against Masons which had been passed on them under his mother's reign. While
Masonry remained prohibited, officially, it existed and even began to increase
again. He was killed in a palace revolution in 1801.
Alexander I, surnamed the Blessed, son and successor of Paul I, ruled Russia
from 1801 to 1825. Under him, Freemasonry again rose high in the east only to be
struck down again as its members deplored its lamentable condition following
years of weak leadership and as it became a political concern to the Emperor.
The tradition exists that Alexander became a Mason in 1803 and there is evidence
that he was a member of a lodge in Warsaw. While all secret societies were still
banned in Russia, new lodges began to appear. In 1810 Masonic lodges were
officially allowed and recognized and many bore his name. New lodges not only
appeared in Moscow and St. Petersburg but also in Siberia and the Crimea. Many
military lodges were formed during the Napoleonic wars.
In 1810 the old adhearants to the Yelaguin or English system of Masonry joined
with the Rosicrucian Masons to form the Grand Directorial Lodge of Saint Prince
Vladimir of Order as the unifying body for Russian Freemasonry.8
By this time the Craft was growing so fast that it attracted the vigilant eye of
the government who found a willing informant in John Boeber. He was the leader
of the Swedish system of Masonry which was then the dominating influence in
Russian Masonry. This system was closely akin to the Rosicrucian movement and
was dominated by the higher degrees which were strictly Christian in character.
By 1815 their innate differences lead to its dissolution and the forming of two
Grand Lodges by August 30th. The Grand Lodge Astrea was the dominant body which
initially confined its interest to the blue lodge degrees and freely admitted
members with diverse backgrounds and interests. The second, the Swedish
Provincial Grand Lodge, was strictly regulated and of less concern to the
government. While the Grand Lodge Astrea had to submit a constitution to the
government for approval to exist, it remained a concern to the authorities.
By 1820, when the Grand Lodge of Maine was formed, the Grand Lodge Astrea was
composed of 24 lodges but there was no real strength to it. Lodge ritual work
followed one of five offerings: (1) Hamburg modification of the English
ceremonial, (2) Zinnendorf's rite, (3) rectified Strict Observance rite, (4)
Swedish rite, and (5) Fessler's modified English rite.
In his article, Telepneff did an analysis of the Astrea lodges and it is clear
that its predominant character was German followed by Russian and Polish.
Russian Freemasonry had lost its national character from the days of Yelaguin.
No unifying ritual further weakened the Craft. It was but a house of cards
awaiting a strong wind.
Over the years, Alexander had grown from a young forward-looking ruler to
reactionary ruler over a suspicious government. Masonry no longer held a favored
position. Russian Masonry met its betrayer in a strong conservative politician
and a Mason from the old school, Egor A. Kushelev, Lieutenant-General and
Senator. He was elected Deputy Grand Master of Grand Lodge Astrea in 1820 even
though his ideal was the Swedish System. He found himself at the head of a body
whose members held entirely opposite views from one another, both Masonically
and socially. Some held dangerous political strivings and could become nests of
the Illuminati.
This was all too much for Kushelev who sought to restore the old rules and
doctrines as he understood them even though they were opposed by his members. In
1821, he wrote to his Emperor suggesting that Russian Freemasonry be placed more
strictly under the control of the government or that the Craft be permanently
closed.
On August 1, 1822, without warning Alexander decreed the closing of all Masonic
lodges and all secret societies in general. This struck as a thunderbolt and it
was meekly complied with by the lodges. On August 10th, the last open meeting of
Russian Masons was held. There were isolated cases of lodges continuing to meet
in St. Petersburg and Moscow and even more so in the provinces, but Russian
Freemasonry was broken.
The reign of Nicholas I, 1825-1855, was even more stringent than the closing
years of his father's. On August 21, 1826, he confirmed a decree closing Masonic
lodges. This brought about the abolition of the Craft although secret meetings
are known to have continued until at least 1830.
Masonry returned to Russia in the first quarter of the 20th century.
Unfortunately, these Masons were mostly involved in the political turmoil of the
age as witnessed by the 1905 uprising against the government and the revolution
of 1917 which toppled the last Romanov Tsar, Nicholas II.
Telepneff gives a very good synopsis of Russian Freemasonry in the first quarter
of this century from information provided from the Russian Assistant Counsul-General
in Paris in 1922. I quote for its succinctness:
At the beginning of 1906 about fifteen Russian, well-known for their social and
political activities, mostly members of the constitutional-democratic party,
joined French Lodges; some became members of the Grand Orient, but the majority
entered two Lodges under the Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted
Scottish Rite--Kosmos and Mount-Sinai. On returning to Russian, they formed two
provisional Lodges, The Polar Star in Petersburg and Regeneration in Moscow. In
May, 1908, both Lodges were solemnly opened by two members of the High Council
of the Grand Orient, specially sent for that purpose from Paris. At the same
time the Grand Lodge of France established two Lodges one in Petersburg
(Phoenix) and one in Moscow. Russian Lodges obtained the right to establish
further Lodges without interference from Paris, and accordingly in 1908 and 1909
two more Lodges were opened: The Iron Ring in Nijni-Novgorod and one in Kiev.
The existence of Masonic Lodges was discovered by the Russian Government in
1909; it also became known to the authorities that they were of French origin.
It was then decided by the Russian Lodges to suspend work, and this was
accordingly done till 1911, when some of their members decided to renew with due
prudence their activities. One would not call these activities Masonic in any
sense, as their chief aim was purely political--the abolishment of autocracy,
and a democratic regime in Russia; they acknowledged allegiance to the Grand
Orient of France. This political organization comprised in 1913-1914 about forty
`Lodges.' In 1915-1916 disagreements arose between their members who belonged to
two political parties (the constitutional democrats and the progressives) and
could not agree on a common policy; ten Lodges became dormant. The remaining
thirty Lodges continued to work, and took part in the organization of the 1917
March revolution and in the establishment of the Provisional Government. Their
political aim being attained, the organization began to decay; twenty-eight
Lodges existed on the eve of the Bolshevic revolution, and since then most of
their members have left Russia.9
Writing in the fall of 1922, Telepneff reported that two Russian Lodges had been
formed in Paris under the auspices of the Grand Lodge of France while a Russian
lodge existed in Berlin, The Northern Star Lodge, under a warrant of the Grand
Lodge of the Three Globes.
Futile attempts to reestablish Russian Freemasonry met with the mandate of the
4th Congress of the Communist International in Moscow which required all
Communist Masons to sever their lodge membership. They could not be considered
for important posts in the new reign until two years after their severance. In
1925 Telepneff wrote that regular Masonic activities of every description have
ceased in Russia proper, due to the severe restrictions imposed by Bolshevist
authorities.10
Simon Greenleaf, the second Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Maine, 1822-1824,
compiled a book entitled A Brief Summary into the Origin and Principles of Free
Masonry from a series of lectures he gave while he was the District Deputy Grand
Master for the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts in the District of Maine. He wrote,
as regards the character of Masonry,
Yet still, the fraternity, bound together by the most solemn obligations, and
these strengthened by the remembrance of the common danger to which they had
recently been exposed, continued to assemble, at the customary periods, for
purposes of charity and brotherly love. Masonry contained something too
excellent and attractive, and its secrets were too curious and valuable, to be
abandoned on light grounds. It was a strong bond of union. It possessed a key
which unlocked the middle chamber of the heart. Its secrets always served as
letters of recommendation, and to the present day have continued to entitle
their possessor to the benefits of hospitality and protection. At various
periods it has declined, and sometimes has suffered severe oppression. Despotic
governments have always been afraid of secret assemblies; and all the
governments of Europe have, in their turn, been despotic, and have enacted laws
against such associations. But by persecution, Masonry has never been
suppressed; on the contrary its foundations have been strengthened. Even in
times of war and anarchy its benign principles have continued their salutary
operation on society, and the order still flourishes with increasing reputation.11
The persecution of Russian Freemasonry has been long and hard but like the
Phoenix, the Craft is rising again. With the collapse of communism and with the
greater opportunity of Russians to travel abroad, some have been exposed to and
have embraced Freemasonry. What an affirmation these brethren bring to the
observations of M.W. Bro. Greenleaf. What an obligation rests on us to aid their
endeavors.
This writer has been advised in a letter of April 22, 1996 of the following by
George Dergachev, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Russia. On January 14,
1992, the first regular Lodge Harmony was constituted in Moscow by the Grand
Lodge National Francaise. This lodge now has 41 members.
September 8, 1993 will be a memorable day in Russian Freemasonry for three more
lodges were constituted by the Grand Lodge National Franchise; Lotus No. 2 in
Moscow with 36 current members; New Astrea No. 3 in St. Petersburg with 19
current members; and Gamaioun No. 4 in Voronezh with 13 current members.
Voronezh is a city lying south south-east of Moscow on the Voronezh River
shortly before its joining with the River Don.
M. W. Bro. Dergachev writes Most of the Brothers have graduated from the
Universities. Among then there are scientists, journalists, businessmen,
bankers, officers of the Army, Navy, policemen, engineers, writers, producers
and lawyers.
These four Regular Daughter Lodges of the Grand Lodge Nationale Francaise formed
the Grand Lodge of Russian on June 24, 1995. In addition to their Mother Grand
Lodge, they have been recognized by the Grand Lodges of Poland, Hungary and New
York. The Grand Master and Bro. Vladimir Djanguirian, his Grand Secretary,
attended by invitation the Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of New York
this past May.
While this paper has only quickly hit upon some of the high points in the
history of Russian Freemasonry as provided by Bro. Telepneff, it is hoped that
it will make us realize that the Craft has a long history in Russia. May we
realize how it has suffered at the hands of autocratic and totalitarian leaders.
May we be moved to seek to help our Brothers prevail in their endeavors to
advance Freemasonry in Russia at this time.
The dawn of a new history is breaking in Russian Freemasonry, may its light
never again falter, may it glow eternally.
NOTES
1. Almost 75 years later, we can change Sweden to read the West
and Peter the Great to read Gorbachev and Yaltsin and once again, for the third
time, have this paragraph accurately reflect conditions in Russia.
2. Telepneff, Boris, Freemasonry in Russia, 35 Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, at P.
261. The source of most of the information for this review is taken from three
papers presented by Bro. Telepneff to Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076, London,
the Premier Lodge of Masonic Research. This writer is the Secretary of its
Correspondence Circle for the State of Maine.
This writer wishes to acknowledge that while not all of this paper should be in
quotation marks with one big footnote to Bro. Telepneff, a great deal of the
material and many phrases have been used without the same. Any praise of merit
for this article belongs entirely to the original writer. This writer only
wishes to make this information available to the readers to help inform them of
Russian Freemasonry.
The two other papers are: 38 A.Q.C. 6, Some Aspects of Russian Freemasonry
during the Reign of the Emperor Alexander I (1925) and 39 A.Q.C. 174, A Few
Pages from the History of Swedish Freemasonry in Russia, (1926).
The article in 35 A.Q.C. carries an extensive bibliography of 19 principal
Russian works on Freemasonry. Many of these works are available in the British
Museum.
All three volumes of A.Q.C. were published by W.J. Parrett, Ltd., Printers,
Margate.
3. 35 A.Q.C. at 263.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid at 272.
6. Oxford University Press, 1963, New York at Page 326-327.
7. 35 A.Q.C. at 275.
8. Vladimir, The Great (St. Vladimis Svyatoslavich, 956-1015), was the first
Christian sovereign of Russia. He consolidated the Russian realm from the Baltic
to the Ukraine with Kiev as his capital. He married the sister of Byzantine
Emperor Basil II, accepted Christianity, and ordered the conversion to
Christianity of his subjects.
9. 35 A.Q.C. at 291.
10. 38 A.Q.C. at 66.
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