A proposal for social reform in the reign of Catherine II : Aleksei Polenov's response to the Free Economic Society competition of 1766-68
type: CreativeWork
description: Overall, it might be said that the search for the causes of gentry alienation in the eighteenth century; while contributing much to our understanding of the Russian intelligentsia, has left many questions unanswered in regard to the nature both of the intelligentsia and of the Russian social reform movement. Insofar as social critics were non-noble, un-"alienated" and active prior to the last decades of the century, they constitute a relatively unexplored chapter in the history of Russian social thought. It is this problem which provides the focus for the dissertation which follows. ... For the student seeking to understand the evolution of Russian social thought in the eighteenth century, the life and works of Aleksei Polenov hold much the same interest as they did for Russian social reformers of a century ago. It is not possible, of course, to view his reforms from the same perspective as his descendants. Dmitrii Vasil'evich supposed that his grandfather had taken a major step in the process which had led to a successful resolution of Russia's social ills. The historian can better see in the reform thought of the 1760's early examples of what was ultimately an unsuccessful effort to confront the immense complexities of social change in Russia. The difficulties of Russian social reform, however, though clearly foreshadowed in the proposals of Aleksei Polenov, should not detract from the insights which can be gained from his works into those crucial years of the 1760's, when, as the literature of the Alexandrine era suggests. educated and socially conscious Russians turned to the problems of social change and the resistance to it posed by the age-old traditions of Muscovite culture. I have thus confined m analysis of the contradictions and shortcomings in Polenov's proposals to a final section in the Conclusion, and have instead sought to understand the circumstances, ideas and attitudes which made reform seem desirable and possible to Polenov in the 1760's.It shoul…
abstract: Overall, it might be said that the search for the causes of gentry alienation in the eighteenth century; while contributing much to our understanding of the Russian intelligentsia, has left many questions unanswered in regard to the nature both of the intelligentsia and of the Russian social reform movement. Insofar as social critics were non-noble, un-"alienated" and active prior to the last decades of the century, they constitute a relatively unexplored chapter in the history of Russian social thought. It is this problem which provides the focus for the dissertation which follows. ... For the student seeking to understand the evolution of Russian social thought in the eighteenth century, the life and works of Aleksei Polenov hold much the same interest as they did for Russian social reformers of a century ago. It is not possible, of course, to view his reforms from the same perspective as his descendants. Dmitrii Vasil'evich supposed that his grandfather had taken a major step in the process which had led to a successful resolution of Russia's social ills. The historian can better see in the reform thought of the 1760's early examples of what was ultimately an unsuccessful effort to confront the immense complexities of social change in Russia. The difficulties of Russian social reform, however, though clearly foreshadowed in the proposals of Aleksei Polenov, should not detract from the insights which can be gained from his works into those crucial years of the 1760's, when, as the literature of the Alexandrine era suggests. educated and socially conscious Russians turned to the problems of social change and the resistance to it posed by the age-old traditions of Muscovite culture. I have thus confined m analysis of the contradictions and shortcomings in Polenov's proposals to a final section in the Conclusion, and have instead sought to understand the circumstances, ideas and attitudes which made reform seem desirable and possible to Polenov in the 1760's.It shoul…
author: Blanchard, Ralph Raymond
keywords: Poli︠e︡novʺ, Aleksi︠e︡ĭ I︠A︡kovlevichʺ, 1738-1816 Social reformers, Russia, Intellectual life Russia, History, Catherine II, 1762-1796
date published: 1972-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:10:16Z
provider: Binghamton University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Binghamton University