intelligentsia essays

intelligentsia essays The Intelligentsia within Russia began as early as December 14, 1825 when the Decembrists were put down at the hands of loyalist troops commanded by Nicholas I. From the tragedy that befell the Decembrists, a movement would spring forth that would strive for a Russia where justice and equality were rights to be had by all. After the Decembrists movement occurred, Nicholas severely punished or hung people involved with the movement. The movement for equality then went underground but was kept alive by writers of the period such as Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy. The writings of these authors were very influential upon a class of people that had not existed under Russian laws of the time. These people were known as raznochintsy, or people of other ranks. It was these people who formed the Intelligentsia. The Intelligentsia started radical because of Nicholas policies towards dissenters. Nicholas did not tolerate any ideas that were contrary to his own very well. This changed under Alexander II for a time. Alexander made many changes but progress slowed after an assassination attempt on him by a student named Karakozov. The reactions of the government after the attempt fueled the radicals actions. This was because many of the people who had benefited from reforms found the benefits cut off as a result of the reaction to the assassination. Within the Intelligentsia, there were two schools of thought on what goals the Intelligentsia should follow. The first movement was the Westernizers. This group believed that Russia should follow a course akin to the European states. The Westernizers believed in the Petrine reforms. The second movement was the Slavophiles. They believed in an appreciation of the peasantry and that they represented the core of Russia along with orthodoxy beliefs. The intelligentsia went on to accede to the radic ...