War and Enlightenment in Russia
explores how members of
the military during the reign
of Catherine II reconciled Enlightenment
ideas about the equality and moral worth of all
humans with the Russian reality based on serfdom, a world
governed by autocracy, absolute respect for authority, and
subordination to seniority.
While there is a sizable literature about the impact of the
Enlightenment on government, economy, manners, and literature
in Russia, no analytical framework that outlines its
impact on the military exists. Eugene Miakinkov’s research
addresses this gap and challenges the assumption that the
military was an unadaptable and vertical institution. Using archival
sources, military manuals, essays, memoirs, and letters,
the author demonstrates how the Russian
militaires philosophes
operationalized the Enlightenment by turning thought
into reality.