Alexander Radishchev (1749-1802), a Russian writer and social critic, has been described as Russia’s first radical, due to his attempts to popularise Enlightenment thinking in his native country. His novel called ‘Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow’, published in Russian in 1790, recounts a fictional journey along a postal route, blending literature, philosophy, and political economy, so as to expose social and economic injustices and their causes at all levels of Russian society. Learn why Russian Empress Catherine the Great, who was otherwise a great supporter of Enlightenment learning, was so threatened by Radishchev that she sentenced him to death.

DELIVERY MODE

• Face-to-Face

SUGGESTED READING

• Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library. Alexander Radishchev (1749-1802)

COURSE OUTLINE

• The Enlightenment – what was it, when was it, and why does it matter?
• Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, and the Enlightenment in Russia.
• Alexander Radishchev – author and social critic.
• The purpose and structure of: Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow.
• The key arguments of: Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow.