Russia 1815-1855
Intellectual Life






Russia, 1796-1815 : Intellectual Life



Note : Many of the various national minorities developed a culture (mostly literature) of their own; here, the intellectual life of ethnic Russia is dealt with, not that of the Russian Empire as a whole.

Under Czar Alexander I., the Russian Empire saw the reestablishment of universities such as Dorpat (1802) and Vilnius (1803), and the foundation of new ones : Kazan and Charkov (1804). The University of Moscow, established in 1755) so far had enjoyed limited popularity, as the Russians preferred to study abroad. Educated Russians often used French, a refined language, for communication. The Russian grammar (1802) and orthography (1790es) were standardized by publications such as the Russian Academy's DICTIONARY, providing the foundation for Russia's rich literature which was to emerge in the 19th century.
In 1803 the RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES (est. 1724) adopted new regulations intended to promote the ideas of enlightenment and practical applications of scientific results.

Russia's intelligence, many of whom educated in France or Switzerland and fluent in French, was affected by the ideas of the enlightenment and the French Revolution; however Napoleon's invasion of Russia caused many to resent French influence and take a patriotic stand.







EXTERNAL
FILES 		The Russian Academy of Sciences 1724-1999, from IHST
History of Kazan State University, from KSU
History of the University of Tartu (Dorpat), from Tartu University
History of Vilnius University, from Universitas Vilnensis
DOCUMENTS
REFERENCE


This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2000, last revised on November 8th 2004

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