The article discusses the process of the formation of Russian ethical thought of the late XIX - early XX centuries, analyzes the main factors that contributed to the formation, in terms of P. B. Struve, the Russian “public” and “civility”, the intellectual space and moral self-consciousness of Russian society. Philosophical thought in Russia at the turn of the XIX-XX century sought to respond to social inquiries and transformations caused by the reforms of the 60-70s to form an intellectual environment that would allow public self-awareness to be defined. Moral reflection contributed to the development of the theoretical level of moral consciousness, which found its expression in university thought, a broad discussion of moral problems in Russian society, literature and journalism. One of the significant results of the XIX century can be considered the formation of Russian society, its institutional framework, self-consciousness, expressed in moral reflection. Social consciousness is conceptualized in social