Pushkin, the Decembrists, and Civic Sentimentalism

A group of liberal aristocrats, officers, and intelligentsia attempted a coup in December 1825 against the tsarist government of Russia, inspired by the democratic revolutions in the United States and France. The Decembrist movement was unsuccessful, but it had a lasting impact on Russian culture and politics, leading to the development of "emotional communities" among its members and adjacent writers. This book explores the emotional and literary motivations behind the movement and the dramatic, failed coup, highlighting the belief that cultivating noble sentiments was the key to liberal progress for Russian society.

Format: Hardback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 31 October 2023
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press

In December 1825, a group of liberal aristocrats, officers, and intelligentsia staged a coup against the Tsarist government of Russia, inspired in part by the democratic revolutions in the United States and France. The Decembrist movement, while unsuccessful, opened up new avenues for aspiration in Russian civil society and had a lasting impact on Russian culture and politics. While many writers and thinkers were involved in the conspiracy, others, such as the poet Alexander Pushkin, had loose or ambiguous affiliations. Historians have extensively covered the Decembrist movement and Pushkin's involvement, but Emily Wang takes a novel approach by examining the emotional and literary motivations behind the movement and the dramatic, failed coup. Wang explores the development of "emotional communities" among the members and adjacent writers through careful readings of the literature of Pushkin and other Decembrist figures, such as Kondraty Ryleev, Wilhelm Küchelbecker, and Fyodor Glinka. She traces the emergence of "civic sentimentalism," the belief that cultivating noble sentiments on an individual level was crucial for liberal progress in Russian society. This book sheds light on the core part of Decembrist ideology that set them apart from their contemporaries and Pushkin, namely the belief that the emotional program for Decembrist community members was also a civic program for Russia as a whole. The Decembrist community members sought to enact this program by any means necessary, reflecting their commitment to a more democratic and compassionate Russia.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780299345808