The article is devoted to the Deputy of the state Duma of the Russian Empire of the third convocation M. D. Chelyshov, who was a prominent fighter for national sobriety in a representative organization of the country, a member of the party called “The Union of October 17”. Chelyshov initiated the discussion in Duma about the fight against alcoholism in Russia, being was one of the most active members of the Duma Commission who were making the anti-alcohol bill.
The article analyzes the image of M. D. Chelyshov, formed in 1907-1912 in the national press and publicistic writing. The paper also considers various newspaper and magazine materials, diary notes and memoirs, devoted to him. The study concludes that in public opinion Chelyshov’s image was contradictory: the assessments of his contemporaries ranged from enthusiastic and approving to ironic and even sarcastic ones. The reasons for such an attitude are twofold: sometimes extravagant behavior of the Deputy and specific attitude of Russian society to the issue, raised by him.
Key words: M.D. Chelyshov, fight against alcoholism, sobriety, alcoholism, peasantry, state Duma of the Russian Empire.
Шевченко-4-Citation link: Shevchenko I.A. The image of a deputy – a fighter for people's sobriety in press and publicistic writing of Russia in the early 20th century // Humanities researches of the Central Russia. – 2018. – № 4 (9). – P. 39-45.
DOI: 10.24411/2541-9056-2018-00019