Reto Peter Speck, February 2010 PhD (History), Queen Mary University of London The History and Politics of Civilisation: The Debate about Russia in French and German Historical Scholarship from Voltaire to Herder 1 Abstract During the second half of the 18th century, a debate about Russia developed in France and Germany. Spurred on by a preoccupation with Peter I’s project to swiftly civilise his country through Europeanisation, and by the evolving idea of a philosophic history with its concern to explain the historical process of civilisation in general, and Europe’s historical journey out of a state of barbarism in particular, an array of thinkers turned to the example of Russia with a set of interrelated historiographical and political questions: Does Russia share a history with Europe, and if so, how can its particular history be related to generalised accounts of the development of civilisation? What was the role of Peter I in fostering civilisation in Russia, and what political lessons can be learned from his reign? Can the historical process of civilisation be accelerated through willed, top- down reform and through wholesale importation of ideas and models from without as Peter attempted, or are there unsurpassable limits to such a project? The present thesis reconstructs this central Enlightenment debate, which has so far only received scant attention in modern scholarship, by providing an in-depth analysis of the relevant works of its main participants: Voltaire, Denis Diderot, Pierre Charles Levesque, August Ludwig Schlözer and Johann Gottfried Herder. By contextualising their Russian writings in terms of wider Enlightenment discourse on philosophic history and political reform, it seeks to recover the rich and conflicting nature of the debate about Russia. In this way, it ultimately contributes to the revision of the customary portrayal of the Enlightenment as a unified ‘project’ based on a universalising and rationalistic approach to the human sciences, and marked by a concomitant inability either to appreciate the complexities of historical development or to conceive of a reforming politics outside the framework of enlightened despotism. 2 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................. 4 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 5 1. Voltaire: The slow emergence of Europe versus the swift civilisation of Russia ............................................................................................................................... 21 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 21 The genesis of European civilisation: The Essai sur les mœurs and the Siècle de Louis XIV ........................................................................................................... 25 Russia’s entry into Europe: The Histoire de l’empire de Russie sous Pierre le Grand ................................................................................................................ 45 2. Diderot: The history and politics of old Europe and the ambivalent emergence of youthful Russia ................................................................................................. 64 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 64 The past, present and future of European civilisation: Natural cycles, historical pessimism and the politics of damage limitation .............................................. 68 The present and future of Russia: From the hope of a new beginning to terminal despair ............................................................................................................... 88 3. Pierre Charles Levesque: The discovery of Russia’s distant past and the politics of gradual reform................................................................................................. 111 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 111 The writing of Russian history: Érudits, philosophes and Montesquieu ........ 119 The history of medieval Russia: Emulative communication, feudal fragmentation and a barbarian invasion .......................................................... 130 The history of modern Russia: The despotic and the moderate road to civilisation ....................................................................................................... 145 4. August Ludwig Schlözer: From the erudite reconstruction of the past towards the marrying of scholarship and politics in the present....................................... 166 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 166 The history of Russian historiography: The struggle over erudition from Nestor to Voltaire........................................................................................................ 171 The cultivation of Russian history: The methodical steps towards a pragmatic history .............................................................................................................. 188 From history to politics: Statistics, Gelehrte and the enlightened ruler .......... 199 5. Johann Gottfried Herder: Russia as the future of civilisation between Europe and Asia ............................................................................................................... 210 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 210 The Russian fragments: Peter, the Black Sea, and the question of true Bildung ......................................................................................................................... 213 Anthropology: Man as an animal striving for Bildung ................................... 230 Philosophy of history of mankind: Asian stasis, European alienation, and the quest for a new dynamic centre ....................................................................... 248 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 264 Bibliography ........................................................................................................ 273 Abbreviations .................................................................................................. 273 Primary sources ............................................................................................... 277 Secondary sources ........................................................................................... 285 3 Acknowledgements In preparing this thesis I have greatly benefited from the support of several individuals and institutions. First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to Dr Richard Bourke (Queen Mary). I could not have wished for a more inspiring, responsive and generous supervisor. Without his unwavering guidance and counsel this thesis would never have been written. Dr Georgios Varouxakis (Queen Mary) has mentored me throughout my PhD. His suggestions and advice have helped me greatly to improve my work. Professor Jeremy Jennings (Queen Mary) and Dr John Hope Mason have kindly read parts of this thesis, and I have been fortunate to be able to draw continuously on their expertise in French political thought. I have also been able to discuss aspects of my work with Professor Colin Jones (Queen Mary), Dr Maurizio Isabella (Queen Mary), Dr Michael Schippan (Herzog August Bibliothek) and Dr Gillian Bepler (Herzog August Bibliothek). My warmest thanks goes to all of them. Jeremy Jennings, Professor John Iverson (Whitman College) and Professor Robert Makin (University Paris-Diderot) have provided me with opportunities to present parts of my work to discerning audiences for which I am very grateful. My studies were made possible by a three-year studentship awarded by Queen Mary. A fellowship of the Dr Günther Findel-Stiftung allowed me to spend three months at the Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel. Generous travel grants awarded by the Newberry Library Consortium and Queen Mary’s Stretton Fund have enabled me to participate at conferences overseas. Last, but by no means least, I would like to thank my parents Mariette and Arthur, my baby son Thomas, and, especially, my partner Amy Sheehan. 4 Introduction During the 18th century, Russia became an increasingly important topic in European scholarly discourse.1 Even though knowledge about Russia was available in Europe since the early medieval period and a certain exchange of information flowed between the two uninterruptedly throughout the ages, it is nevertheless the case that a quantitative change occurred around 1700 that developed into a qualitative change by around the middle of the century. This first, quantitative, change manifested itself primarily in increased direct contact through travellers, diplomats and merchants, leading in turn to a significant rise in European publications dealing with Russian affairs.2 The second, qualitative, change points to a radical shift in interest: whilst previously Russia had been predominantly a subject of travel accounts offering their readers an ever increasing mass of more or less factual information about its geography, culture, society, history, politics and economy that usually stressed the country's backwardness