Catherine II and A. N. Radishchev: On the Journal Contexts of Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow

The article is devoted to the analysis of the historical and literary contexts of A. N. Radishchev’s Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow. We believe that Radishchev hoped to find his place in the public sphere organized by Catherine II and to do so, he had to demonstrate his mastery of the cultural and political languages of the era. To achieve this, Radishchev constructed his text as a kind of “encyclopedia” of motifs of contemporary Russian literature of the 18th century, in which references to periodicals of the 1760s–1780s, and especially to Vsyakaya Vsyachina and Truten, took almost the first place. The article shows that Radishchev did not strive for the integrity of his work, constantly “blurring” the unity of the text, building a complex system of “storytellers.” Radishchev could have conceived of “Journey” as a kind of “journal” dedicated to modern Russia. It was precisely such an innovative, uncompromising, and even “daring” text that, according to the author, was supposed to attract the attention of the authorities and ensure him a worthy place on Parnassus. The article also analyzes the reasons for the catastrophe that befell the author.