July 24, 1790
Alexander Radishchev was sentenced to death for his book, "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow," which Catherine II read and summed up as "a rebel, worse than Pugachev."
I looked around me—my soul was wounded by the sufferings of humanity. I turned my gaze within me—and saw that man's misfortunes come from man.
At the time of his arrest, Radishchev was 40 years old, living and working in St. Petersburg, where he headed the customs office. He had been collecting material for "The Journey" since the 1780s. Foreign policy events—the victory of the American Revolution and the beginning of the French Revolution—were conducive to advancing ideas of freedom.
O laws! Your wisdom is often found only in your style!
The story consisted of fragments linked by the names of towns and villages the author passed through. It was a kind of "sentimental journey" genre. The censor assumed he was holding a travel guide and gave permission for publication without reading it. Meanwhile, Radishchev painted a picture of the Russia of his time: autocracy, censorship, serfdom, and landowner lawlessness.
Who doesn't know with what impudence the audacious hand of the nobility creeps into obscene and chastity-defying jokes with village girls? In the eyes of noblemen, old and young, they are creatures created for their pleasure.
Radishchev set up a printing press in his home. In May 1790, he published "The Journey." The book quickly sold out. The author's name wasn't on the publication, but he was quickly identified and arrested. The copy that landed on Catherine II's desk was covered with her caustic remarks ("a most pitiful tale of a family sold at auction...").
Words are not always actions, and thoughts are not crimes... What harm can there be if books are published without the police stamp?
Radishchev was sentenced to death for a book containing "the most harmful intellectualizations, destroying public peace and diminishing the respect due to the authorities." The sentence was later commuted to exile to Siberia.
The Russian people are very patient, and they endure to the very end; but when they reach the end of their patience, nothing can stop them from turning to cruelty.
