The Social Background of the Enlightenment in Russia in a Comparative Perspective

Summary The Age of Enlightenment is identified as an eighteenth-century intellectual and philosophical movement that produced a variety of ideas ranging from the conservative to the radical, and from rational to mystical or even counter-enlightenment. This article discusses the social structure of intellectual elites in different countries during the Enlightenment. It argues that the different systems of ideas that were generated during this period, and the different forms these ideas took, are a result of the different configurations of intellectual elites in each country. It turns to examples from Scotland, France, German lands, and Russia to show the social background of enlightenment ideas.