ABSTRACT
While a Western libertarian would object to governmental controls over the press, he or she does so on the Classical Liberal grounds that an individual develops best if left alone by the state. A Russian libertarian, like Nikitenko, does not view this issue in the same way. The "cast-iron statute" was replaced within two years due to its unworkable nature. Golovnin was a liberal by most accounts and would probably have liked to have lifted censorship altogether, but Golovnin was also a realist and he must have known that censorship was not going to be removed anytime soon. Knowing that fact, he may well have not wanted his liberal image to become tarnished by the dirty business of censorship. Censorship continued even after the fall of the tsar. The Provisional Government was considering a new Press Law when it was overthrown (whether they intended to liberalize or to crack down remains unclear).
