Alexander Radishchev

Alexander Radishchev 1749-1802 was a Russian author and social critic who was arrested and exiled under Catherine the Great.

Radishchev was born a minor noble and was very well educated and wealthy. His education, however, lead him ot greatly dislike the Russia he saw around him. He launded revolutionaries like George Washington and praised the French Revolution. His most famous work A Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow is a complex critic of Russian society. He was especially critical of serfdom and the limits to personal freedom impsoed by the autocracy.

Catherine the Great read the work and saw much to fear in Raishchev's reformism. He was rrested and condemend to death. This was later communted to exile to Siberia. He was freed by Catherine's successor, he attempted to push for the reformation in of Russia's government, but was unsuccessful. In 1802 he committed suicide.