The History of Pre-Petrine Russia as Recounted by Voltaire: The View of an Enlightened European

Abstract

This article analyses Voltaire’s evaluation of pre-Petrine Russia, its evolution, the sources of Voltaire’s data on medieval Muscovy, and his Russian contemporaries’ attitude to the historical work of the enlightener. The topic of Russia is touched upon in a number of Voltaire’s works: The History of Charles XII, Anecdotes of Peter the Great, Essay on the Customs and the Spirit of the Nations, and History of the Russian Empire under Peter the Great. Peter I is always characterised as the “creator” of a new Russia. This idea, as well as European stereotypes of Muscovy, determined the author’s attitude to pre-Petrine Rus’. Voltaire created a picture of a barbaric society characterised by superstitions, ignorance, despotism, the enslavement of its subjects, the dominance of Asian customs, and isolation. In History of the Russian Empire under Peter the Great, Voltaire softens his characterisation of pre-Petrine Rus’. It no longer looks to him like a country stuck in its barbarism. Voltaire emphasises the desire of Peter’s predecessors for transformation, as a result of which the picture of medieval Russia acquires a more realistic form. On becoming acquainted with the sources, the enlightener’s observations indicate the formation of a new look at the process of civilization. The article’s author singles out issues of medieval history of Russia considered by Voltaire in his works and the sources that formed the basis of the “Russian” works of the famous French writer, paying attention to the conclusions that ultimately not only confirmed Voltaire’s new history of Russia, but also outlined novel ways to study world history.