Empire, Autocracy, and Subjecthood in the 18th Century

Session Submission Type: Panel

Affiliate Organization: Eighteenth-Century Russian Studies Association

Brief Description

The three papers presented in this panel collectively address the themes of Empire, Autocracy, and Subjecthood within the context of the 18th Century Russian Empire. Each paper delves into the intricate dynamics of power, governance, and individual experience that characterized this period, offering insights into the mechanisms of imperial rule, the autocratic nature of governance, and the lived experiences of subjects under such a regime. One paper examines the impact of 18th-century Russian imperial pardons from the death penalty on subjects' emotions and views of autocracy, emphasizing the tsar's strategy to mold a specific emotional and political climate. It explores the tsar's exclusive mercy right, linked with autocratic power, the sovereign's divine status, and religious beliefs. This act of mercy, framed religiously, highlighted the tsar's life-and-death authority, reinforcing their dominance and deliberately shaping the populace's emotional and political landscape. A second paper delves in to the life of Grigory Vinsky, a Ukrainian nobleman and member of Catherine II's guards’ regiment, whose exile to Bashkiria and subsequent autobiography offer unique insights into Enlightenment culture and the personal dimensions of living under autocracy. Vinsky's experiences and reflections provide a valuable ego-document that enriches our understanding of individual subjecthood, the cultural milieu of the Enlightenment, and the intricate relationship between autocratic power, mercy, and the emotional lives of Imperial subjects. A third paper explores dreams about the monarch found in the investigative materials of the Preobrazhensky Prikaz and the Secret Chancellery

Sub Unit

• Early Slavic Studies

Chair

• John Randolph, U of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Papers

• The Action of Pardon in 18th Century Russia: A Demonstration of Power's Monopoly on Violence and Mercy - Elena Marasinova, U of Münster (Germany)

• Dangerous Dreams in 18th Century Russia: Oneiric Inquiries in the Archive of the Secret - Ekaterina Maichak, Independent Scholar

• A Ukrainian Nobleman’s Odyssey in Catherinian Russia: The Autobiography of Grigory (Hrihory) Vinsky - Alexander M. Martin, U of Notre Dame

Discussant

• Steven A. Usitalo, Northern State U