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Abstract:

The central paradox of Catherine the Great’s reign (1762–1796) is that in the early years of her reign she encouraged the development of the “public sphere” in Russia and laid its institutional and intellectual foundation, while in later years, shaken by the revolutionary events in France, she asserted the prerogatives of autocratic power and sought to reduce the autonomy of this sphere. The state’s constant need for educated servants came into conflict with the autocratic imperative of complete social and political control over society. The history of Catherine II’s relationship with two people who are often called the progenitors of the Russian intelligentsia — Nikolai Novikov (1744–1818) and Alexander Radishchev (1749–1802) — vividly illustrates this problem and points to the roots of the intelligentsia in the 18^th century. While the pathos of Novikov’s career was the desire to create a public sphere within the framework of the rights established by Catherine, Radishchev, following the French ideas of the “late” Enlightenment, saw the need for fundamental changes in the ruling structure, i.e. the end of autocracy and the establishment of a state based on laws (Rechtsstaat). Both men can be seen as making the first attempts, no matter how problematic they may be, to establish the rights of the public sphere; and the emergence of the “classical” Russian intelligentsia can be interpreted as a consequence of their failures.

Keywords: Catherine II, N.I. Novikov, A.N. Radishchev, intelligentsia, public sphere, J. Habermas, R. Koselleck.