Origins Of The Russian Intelligentsia: The Eighteenth-Century Nobility – The Unique Social Force Behind Westernization and Revolution

by Marc Raeff

Marc Raeff investigates the early development of the Russian intelligentsia, a unique social & political force that was instrumental in westernizing its country & fermenting the revolutionary movement.
Introduction
The Noble Serviceman in Muscovite Russia
The State & Service in the 18th Century
Home & School
The Impact of Western Ideas
Notes
Index

Genres: History, Russia, Nonfiction

260 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

Reviews

[Erik Graff]

I read this book for Greg Guroff's two-semester Russian History course at Grinnell College, employing some of its material for a paper prepared for Al Jones' Sociology seminar entitled "Utopia and Society". Judging by the very many notes scrawled microscopically in its margins, I found the book stimulating, it being one of the first studies I'd ever read about the Russian intelligentsia as a virtual class.

This book was read during the first semester of the history sequence. It likely influenced my decision to focus on pre-revolutionary leftist movements in Russia during the second semester.

[Alex]

Things happened and the Russian intelligentsia formed, WOW!

[Alenka of Bohemia]

Very interesting, made me realize how much I long for a good book on pre-revolutionary life of Russian nobles, or a series of books focused on the prominent noble families. On the downside I though much of the information was repeated a lot, which made for a tedious read.

[Roberto Golović]

It is a very solid source if you're interested to get a detailed enough look into a life of a specific Russian thinker - if you mean to read it back to back, it might feel a little repetative.

[Jessica Wolf-Golbach]

Definitely academic reading material, but interesting and clear.