The Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow contains three main topics: criticism of the autocracy and serfdom, the question of the inevitability of revolution. Radishchev in this work goes beyond sentimentalism and approaches the realistic principle of depicting reality. The book is unique in that it has collected various genres: from stories to philosophical considerations, from letters to allegories. All these "pieces" are assembled into a single whole with the help of the general idea of ââthe archaic nature of the autocratic system and serfdom. In addition, the traveler is a cross-cutting character, despite the fact that each chapter has its own plot and its compositional completeness.
Spasskaya Polist
One of the sharp socially critical chapters is considered to be Spasskaya Polist. She sums up the thoughts of Radishchev about the dangers of autocracy. What is only the story of the governor, who used the money not for public service purposes, but for his personal purpose (he acquired oysters). And his assistant, thanks to the "obedient" service, was promoted. That is, embezzlement and nepotism are evident. The travelerâs dream is a satirical allegory of the entire reign of Catherine the Second. According to the writer, it was during her reign that the rottenness and depravity of the autocracy reached their zenith. This is especially pronounced in the chapter âSpasskaya Polistâ.
Radishchev is a Russian democrat and public figure of the 18th century who made an invaluable contribution to Russian culture, literature and social thought. In the chapter âSpasskaya Polistâ, as in the whole âJourneyâ, the author speaks on behalf of the humiliated and tired peasants in order to say his word in response to the oppressors. There was no other such consistent and revolutionary-minded writer as the author of a large-scale work, which included the head of Spasskaya Polist (analysis will confirm this).
Censorship
It was not possible to print the work, although Konstantin Ryleyev missed it without even reading it. Then the writer equipped his printing house and put on sale 25 copies. He kept the remaining 600. But even twenty-five were enough to make the city âbuzzâ. The rumor reached Catherine. The Empress was angry. Despite the anonymity of the authorship of Travel, Radishchev was quickly found. The investigation took a long time. The writer had three tasks: not to give out accomplices, to protect children and save their lives. It ended up with the death penalty being replaced by exile in Siberia. So the "rebel worse than Pugachev" survived. Radishchev committed suicide when, after returning from exile, he realized that the persecution did not end.
Real reality
In Radishchevâs book (and in separate chapters, such as âSpasskaya Polistâ), the main idea is the denunciation of serfdom. Catherine saw in her the echoes of the French Revolution, although by and large all the events were inspired by Russian reality. Each meeting of the traveler only increases his confidence in the arbitrariness and scale of bribery prevailing in the country. The writer was not afraid to openly condemn serfdom. He calls it violence against man in both physical and moral terms. âSpasskaya Polistâ is built on a bright contrast of the external greatness of the kingdom and its internal decay, despotism. The author draws a sharp line between the court, drowning in luxury, and the mendicant Russia. The author openly says that people capable of meanness are in power. The images of embezzlers and fraudsters, bureaucrats and tyrants were multifaceted. Everyone is tied with mutual responsibility and only think about how to increase their fortune and rob the peasants more. The story âSpasskaya Polistâ paints this in bright light.
Finding a way out
Radishchev criticizes enlightened absolutism, and with it the clergy and the church. According to Radishchev, they are the main assistants of the sovereign in the oppression of serfs. The only way out of this situation is the revolution. The writer says that people have gone to extremes. The moment has come when violence will overthrow violence.
According to Radishchev, republican rule is possible in Russia, based on private property. Everyone has the right to it. That is, as a result of the overthrow of the monarchy, the land will go to the peasants. Of course, he perfectly understood that all this would not come tomorrow. First, the revolution must take place in the minds of the peasants, and then in reality.
Summary
The chapter âSpasskaya Polistâ describes how a travelerâs travel companion tells him his story on the way to Polist. Everything was fine with him, his wife was, but not for long. The fellow traveler was deceived by his companion, as a result of which he remained on the beans, and even all in debt. A pregnant wife gave birth prematurely from a nervous shock. Neither the baby nor the mother survived. And the most deceived had to hide. The traveler sincerely compassion for his companion and even imagines himself in the place of the supreme ruler, fair and good, in which the country blossoms, people are happy. But then suddenly the veil falls from the eyes of the ruler, and he sees that in reality the country is ruined, and those in power are atrocious. This is the chapter âSpasskaya Polistâ, the summary of which is presented above.
Traveler
The âtravelâ genre allows the hero to evolve to the finale of the work, as well as find the truth. Who is the traveler of Radishchev? One cannot say for sure that he is the writer himself. In principle, from the work we learn practically nothing about the facts of his biography. They are scattered in separate chapters in very small numbers. He is an official and a poor representative of the nobility. From the work it becomes clear that he has no wife, but there are children. At the beginning of the "Journey" the hero himself recalls his shameful act when he beat his coachman for no reason. This memory of him suggests that he used to be an ordinary serf serf. The traveler came to understand the negative basis of autocracy later. He repented and even wanted to take his own life, as he understood his powerlessness to change anything. Despite the negative events and pictures, the narrative still becomes more optimistic for the finale. Radishchev believes: this will not last long.
Three way
The traveler, and with it Radishchev, come to the conclusion that there are three possible ways to rid Russia of serfdom. This is reform (âKhotilovâ), enlightenment of the nobles (âSacredâ), rebellion (âZaitsevoâ). Many contemporaries believed that the author himself was a supporter of rebellion. But this is not so. Radishchev considers all three methods, and pays tribute to each of them.
Church attitude
Man Radishchev believed that the decline in morality, rampant debauchery and vice are interconnected. At the head of everything is the church and the autocracy. The writer touched on everything: censorship, the royal court, and the immorality of those in power. The source of joy for the author is that healthy beginning that the people have not yet lost. It is in him that the writer seeks and finds support and hope for a better light. Indeed, in spite of everything, the people are working, living and rejoicing. It is in simple peasants that the author sees the future of the country. Not only against the autocracy was Radishchev, but also against reactionary trends, such as Freemasonry. They distracted a person from public affairs and occupied his mind with delirium. The ideal for Radishchev is a brave man who lives the life of Russia, who cares for the truth. Of course, Radishchev overtook his century by a hundred years. Today we greatly appreciate his merit to the fatherland.