Contemporaries
Alexander Radishchev
Literature · social thought
Show on the timeline- Period of activity shown
- 1773–1802
A writer and thinker of the Russian Enlightenment, Radishchev criticised serfdom and arbitrary government. His Journey from St Petersburg to Moscow angered Catherine II; a death sentence was commuted to Siberian exile. He also wrote poetry and works on philosophy and law. Under Alexander I, he joined a legislative commission. The circumstances of his death remain disputed, and suicide should not be treated as an established fact.
- Lifetime
- 1749–1802
- Period shown
- 1773–1802: from his first published translation to the end of his life
- Key event
- 1790: publication of Journey from St Petersburg to Moscow, trial and exile