Vladimir Meshchersky

Prince Vladimir Petrovich Meshchersky (11 January 1839[1] – 23 July 1914[2]) was a Russian journalist and novelist who, throughout his career, wielded significant political influence.

A friend of composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, he acquired a reputation as a homosexual philanderer.

[7] He was the editor of Grazhdanin (The Citizen), a traditional conservative newspaper which received subsidies from the imperial authorities.

[8] According to Leon Trotsky, "The sole paper which [Tsar] Nicholas read for years, and from which he derived his ideas, was a weekly published on state revenue by Prince Meshchersky, a vile, bribed journalist of the reactionary bureaucratic clique, despised even in his own circle.

"[9] Meshchersky also contributed to the periodicals The Russian Messenger and Moskovskiye Vedomosti (Moscow News).