FROM COURT LITERATURE TO THE PUBLIC SPHERE: CRITICISM OF EUROPEAN COLONIALISM IN AMERICA BY RUSSIAN AUTHORS OF THE SECOND HALF OF THE 18TH CENTURY

The article analyses the phenomenon of Russian criticism of European colonialism in America in the second half of the 18th century, the beginning of which was laid by M. V. Lomonosov in his “Letter on the usefulness of glass” (1752) and then developed by A. P. Sumarokov. It is shown that originally the American theme emerged within the framework of court literature oriented to the monarch and courtiers. Criticism of the bloody conquest of America by Europeans and cruel exploitation of its indigenous inhabitants within the framework of court literature became a part of constructing a positive image of Russia, where, in contrast to the European colonies, the peoples, which, among others, were yet to become part of the Russian Empire, are not oppressed and live in peace and prosperity. During the reign of Catherine the Great, who formally encouraged freedom of expression and a free press, discourse on European colonialism in the America was transferred to Russia’s emerging public sphere. А. N. Radishchev, in his “Journey from Petersburg to Moscow” (1790), demonstrated that critical anti-colonial discourse could be used to describe Russian domestic orders. This, in turn, led to the destruction of the panegyric description of the empire’s prosperity. As the fate of Radishchev and his book showed, the government assumed that in Russia the freedom of public criticism should be limited and not question the well-being of the empire. However, although it was possible to limit such criticism through censorship, it was no longer possible to destroy such intellectual reception.