French materialism and enlightenment in perception by the Russian intellectual elite at the turn of the XVIII–XIX centuries

The paper examines perception of the French Enlightenment materialistic ideas in the formation era of the early Russian liberalism. It shows specific features of reception and popularization of the materialistic worldview, in particular, the ideas of Paul-Henri Thiry, baron d’Holbach, presented in publications of Ivan Petrovich Pnin, one of the most prominent representatives of the Russian social thought at the turn of the XVIII–XIX centuries. I.P. Pnin’s activities are considered primarily on the material of the “St. Petersburg Journal” he published (1798), which became a messenger of the time advanced ideas. The Holbach’s main works were published on the Journal pages. However, the I.P. Pnin’s own poetical creation was no less striking and indicative phenomenon in the Russian social thought history of that time, which is also of considerable interest. The paper emphasizes consonance of the I.P. Pnin’s views on the reform projects of the intellectual elite, which were reflected in the legislative acts of Emperor Alexander I at the beginning of the XIX century.

EDN LPNIZI

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