this is the first extensive study devoted to vasilii malinovskii, one of the most significant figures in the history of russian thought. he was one of the first supporters of abolition of serfdom in russia. in his capacity as director, malinovskii contributed in a fundamental way to the establishment of the liberal atmosphere characterizing the tsarskoe selo lycée, where aleksandr pushkin and some of the decembrists were educated. his major work, dissertation on peace and war (1803), contains a plan for the establishment of peace in europe which was the only project of this sort to appear in russia. at a time when napoleonic wars were deeply transforming the previous status quo, he proposed to redesign the geopolitical map of europe regrouping its states on the basis of rational, ethno-linguistic criteria. a general council empowered to deliberate on conflicts among them was to guarantee a permanent peace.