There are enough myths and conjectures around the most closed society in the world, but not all of them correspond to reality. It is believed, for example, that the Freemasons almost completely regulate all international politics, although in fact religious and political issues are not discussed in the brotherhood. At the same time, many statesmen and public men, cultural figures, famous personalities are members of the lodges.
Who are modern Freemasons
The secret organization of freemasons arose on June 24, 1717 in England. Four societies that at that time were in the capital of Great Britain were named after the names of the pubs in which the participants of the movement gathered: “Apple”, “Goose and a baking sheet”, “Crown”, “Grape brush”. It was on June 24, 1717 that they united into a single Grand Lodge of London. Freemasons consider their goals to be the improvement of themselves and the world around, charity, but all over the world they are considered almost religious fanatics. But in fact, "freemasons"avoid talking about religion and politics.
Freemasonry in general and individual representatives of the organization are not hiding. Any member of the Lodge is free to claim membership of the secret fraternity, but it is forbidden to disclose who else is in the ranks of the movement. It is believed that "freemasons" rule the world. The Masonic conspiracy theory is based on the fact that in many states the members of the organization are influential personalities, politicians and public figures. The reliability of this assumption remains controversial, because it has no documentary evidence.
Representatives of a closed society
Famous Freemasons of the world - outstanding writers, philosophers, architects, statesmen and public figures who influenced the course of world history. True, it is possible to talk about the belonging of some figures to a secret society only with a certain degree of probability, given the secrecy of such data. Among the most famous Freemasons, one can list George Washington (the first US president joined the Friedrichsburg Lodge in 1752), Voltaire (French philosopher and writer initiated in the Nine Sisters Lodge, Paris), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Austrian composer joined the lodge " For good" in 1784).
The list of representatives of the secret brotherhood includes artists, philosophers and public figures, heads of state. The strength of Freemasonry is that the organization includes people of various strata, positions, so Freemasonry has the opportunityaffect all areas of life. Among the famous people-Masons, the following personalities are mentioned:
- Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, creator of the famous Statue of Liberty, one of the first members of Alsac-Lorrain.
- German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, English writer and physician, creator of the image of Sherlock Holmes and author of The History of Spiritualism.
- Sculptor and painter Gutson Borglum.
- Joseph Brant, the first Indian Freemason to make history.
- Dr. Joseph Ignace Guillotin, doctor, member of the French government.
- Genius civil engineer Gustave Eiffel
- Scottish poet Robert Burns.
- Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn.
- Eduard Benes, President of Czechoslovakia (1935).
- Chief Doctor of the Russian Corps in France, personal physician of Emperor Nikolai Romanov N. Arendt.
- Giusepe Garibaldi, "Italian George Washington", who was sentenced to death in his homeland and fled first to Latin America and then to the USA.
- Simon Bolivar, the most influential of the leaders of the war for the independence of the Spanish colonies.
- Alexander Griboedov, diplomat, author of the comedy Woe from Wit.
- A close friend of A. Pushkin, Foreign Affairs official Anton Delvig.
- Mustafa Kemal Pasha (Ataturk), founder of modern Turkey, politician.
- American illusionist Harry Houdini.
- Famous zoologist, author of many works on biology Alfred Brehm.
- Napoleon Bonaparte and his four brothers, including JosephBonaparte, King of Naples and Spain.
- French sculptor Jean Antoine Houdon.
- Joseph Rudyard Kipling, English poet and writer, who became the first Englishman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
The great Austrian composer, author of over six hundred works, joined the Masonic Order in Vienna in 1784. He was initiated into the second degree of the lodge, and soon became a master mason. One of the famous legends says that Mozart in the opera The Magic Flute inadvertently told about the secrets of the Masons, for which he was killed. It is not known how true this is, but to this day Masons treat this work of art with great attention. When the Master's aria from Mozart's "Magic Flute" is played at the Vienna Opera, several dozen listeners in the hall get up from their seats.
Giuseppe Garibaldi
One of the leaders of the national liberation movement in Italy and an active fighter for the independence of the republics of South America, already in his youth, was a member of an organization associated with the Freemasons. In Brazil in 1844 he became a member of the Shelter of Valor lodge, then moved to the Friends of the Fatherland in Uruguay. While in the US, he was Giuseppe Garibaldi involved in the work of the Tompkins fraternity.
Joseph Rudyard Kipling
The English poet and writer became the first Englishman to receive the Alfred Nobel Prize for Literature, and two decades before that he was initiated intoHope and Perseverance Lodge in India. For several years he was a secretary, reached the level of a master, and in the UK he became an influential member of the "Authors' Lodge" and one of the founders of the "Builders of Silent Cities" in France.
Johann Wolfgang Goethe
I was initiated into Freemasonry in 1780, eight years later received a master's degree. Goethe wrote many Masonic hymns and poems. One of the best examples of Masonic literature is considered to be his novels about Wilhelm Meister. Almost until his death, Goethe remained the “intellectual center of the lodge.”
List of famous Freemasons of Russia
The Russian Masonic Society has always been associated with the Western, not being an independent organization. Professor M. Kovalevsky contributed to the active spread of the brotherhood in Russia. Under his leadership, in 1901, the Russian Higher School of Social Sciences was opened in Paris under the guidance of the Cosmos Lodge. The goal (except educational) is to prepare future participants in the struggle for the "liberation of Russia" in exclusively Masonic traditions. Other famous Masons of Russia:
- Alexander Suvorov, one of the first Russian Freemasons who became a member of a secret brotherhood during the Seven Years' War.
- Nikolai Novikov, publisher of the magazines "Purse", "Truten" and "Painter", in which he criticized courtiers, landowners and judges, joined the lodge "Astrea" in St. Petersburg in 1775.
- Commander Mikhail Kutuzov was initiated into the Lodge "To the Three Springs" in Bavaria.
- Alexander Radishchev, grandson of orderly PeterThe first, the son of the richest landowner, translated the works of radical French enlighteners for the Masonic Lodge.
- Aristocrat, philosopher and publicist Pyotr Chaadaev was admitted to the Masons in 1826, received the eighth degree of initiation out of nine possible.
- Statesman Mikhail Speransky, son of a parish priest from the Russian hinterland.
- Alexander Pushkin, who was literally surrounded by Freemasons (many of his friends, father, uncles were in the secret lodge), but was careless about membership in the fraternity, wrote poetry at meetings.
- One of the leaders of the Decembrists, Pavel Pestel, received the fifth degree of education.
- Secret diplomat, who was an intermediate link between the Masons in Moscow and the heir to the throne Pavel, Vasily Bazhenov.
- Alexander Bestuzhev, participant in the uprising on Senate Square, critic, writer.
- Religious painter, outstanding portrait painter Vladimir Borovikovsky, one of the most mystical-minded intellectuals of Alexander's time.
- Not proven: Peter the Great may have been a Freemason. There is a version that it was he (together with his associates Patrick Gordon and Franz Lefort) who founded the Russian Lodge.
Mikhail Kutuzov
The famous freemason Kutuzov believed that membership in a serious secret organization could divert his attention from women and wine. He became a member of several lodges, was initiated into the seventh degree, received the original award and his own motto. Kutuzov was buried in the Kazan Cathedral, some time beforesad event built by another famous freemason-architect - A. Voronikhin.
Alexander Pushkin
Alexander Pushkin was admitted to the Masonic Lodge in 1821, about which he made an entry in his diary. The brotherhood gathered in Chisinau, where he was exiled. Soon the box was closed, and before that Pushkin, who was not an exemplary Freemason, only managed to grow a nail on the thumb of his right hand - a distinctive sign of belonging to a secret society. In 1830, the writer distanced himself from the Freemasons and stopped attending meetings. Some biographers believe that members of the organization took revenge on Pushkin by using Dantes, a member of a lodge abroad, for provocations. There is also a version that during the funeral of Alexander Pushkin, another famous freemason Turgenev threw a glove into the grave - a sign of brotherhood.
Alexander Radishchev
No one could have thought that the son of a we althy landowner and the grandson of Peter the Great's batman, having accumulated ideas forbidden by censorship, would begin to propagate them in Russia. But Alexander Radishchev, having gone to study in Leipzig, made friends with the Masons. For five years he was a member of the lodge, translating the works of French enlighteners for Nikolai Novikov, the founder of the lodge of strict obedience in Moscow. In 1790, the famous freemason Radishchev printed more than six hundred copies of Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow. Empress Catherine considered the writer "a rebel worse than Pugachev", so he was arrested and imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress. The court sentenced the Mason to death, but the punishment was replaced by exile in Siberia. Then Emperor Paulreturned Alexander Radishchev to Moscow.
Famous Modern Freemasons
Are there Freemasons in the modern world? Well-known Russian Freemasons have invariably influenced historical events, which is why even today it is believed that representatives of the secret brotherhood completely control world politics. But little is known about the representatives of the organization, because they do not seek publicity. A well-known Moscow lawyer, an expert on Freemasonry, claims that today in Moscow alone there are 5-6 lodges, the number of each of which does not exceed several hundred people. By the way, the main Soviet symbol - a five-pointed red star - was taken by the Bolsheviks from the Masons. This is an ancient symbol that is part of the second level of Masonic lodges.
The lists of the most famous Masons of our time were published by the scandalous historian Platonov. He claims that the Freemasons are Luzhkov, Abramovich, Berezovsky, Gaidar (his involvement in the lodges is officially denied by the Masons themselves), Nemtsov, the banker Aven, Kasparov, Khodorkovsky, Govorukhin, human rights activists Alekseeva and Kovalev. It is only known for certain that after the revolution, all Russian lodges moved abroad, but returned to Russia in 1992. The rest of the lists should be treated with a great deal of he althy irony. In fact, it is not possible to reveal the lists of famous Masons of our time.
