Paul
Milyukov was born in Moscow, Russia
in 1859. He studied history at the University of Moscow and became
involved in the student protest movement.
Milyukov
wrote several history books including Studies
in the History of Russian Culture. An opponent of Russia's
autocratic regime, his criticisms of Nicholas
II resulted in him being sacked from the university and banished
from Russia.
Milyukov
moved to the United States where he taught at the University
of Chicago. During the 1905 Revolution
he returned to Russia and helped establish the Union of Liberation
and the Union of Unions. This resulted in him being arrested and imprisoned.
On
his release Milyukov helped to form the Constitutional
Democratic Party. Initially a harsh critic of the Duma
he eventually agreed to stand for election. Milyukov was elected to
the third and fourth Dumas and was a strong supporter of Russia's
involvement in the First World War.
In
1915 Milyukov began criticizing the war effort and questioned the
competence of Nicholas II as the country's
commander-in-chief. In one speech in the Duma,
where he listed the failings of the government, asked if the explanation
was stupidity or treason.
Milyukov
supported the Provisional Government
but strongly opposed the October Revolution.
After the White Army failed to win the
Civil War, Milyukov left Russia and
spent his final years in France. Paul Milyukov died in 1943.
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