In the absence of archival material [if Prince D.I. Shakhovskoy, one of the founding-fathers of the Liberation Movement, is to be believed, such material never existed (see Shakhovskoy IV, p. 81); Professor Pipes seems to believe that such an archive existed but may have perished (see Pipes IIa, p. 308n.)], the main source on the history of the formative stage of the Liberation Movement is provided by the memoirs and early recollections of its principal participants. Among these the most important are: Belokonskiy II, pp. 92–4 and Shakhovskoy IV, pp. 85–7. The former obtained his information from V. Ya. Bogucharskiy (‘a well-known writer who accompanied Struve during his negotiations with the editors of Iskra in Europe’) and the latter wrote the only existing history of the Union of Liberation. Besides these two sources, valuable information is also found in the following: Kuskova V, pp. 325–6; VIII, pp. 383–4; IXc; XI, pp. 368–70; XVIIIa (one must exercise caution with these memoirs since she often contradicts herself); Maklakov I, pp. 142–4; Milyukov V3, pp. 116–17; Petrunkevich II, pp. 336–7 (Petrunkevich's memory failed him with regard to dates: meetings which took place in 1901 he placed in 1902, and 1902 meetings are dated in 1903); and Rodichev IV, pp. 322–3. Valuable new information on the formative stage of the Liberation Movement is found in Chermenskiy II, p. 50 and Mikheyeva, p. 243.