A ‘Total Revolution?’ The Pugachev Rebellion: Between Indigenous Republicanism and Radical Enlightenment

About this episode

The lecture discusses the Pugachev Rebellion and its implications for democratic empowerment and universal rights in the context of the Russian Empire.

This lecture is co-sponsored by the UW–Madison Department of German, Nordic, Slavic+. About the Lecture: This talk will address the Pugachev Rebellion (1773-1775) in the Russian Empire, the most massive popular uprising in eighteenth-century Europe which brought together Cossacks, Russian serfs, and Bashkir nomads (to name just the major groups) in a common uprising against the Russian Empire and its colonization of the steppe. Arguing against the common theory of “naïve monarchism”, the talk will aim to uncover the idioms of democratic empowerment and universal rights which so far have been hiding from scholars in the plain sight of the rebellion’s massive published archive. These idioms could take two forms: a secular, juridical form, which combined official concepts of law with those of the unwritten common law in order to affirm democratic self-governance; and the form of a heretical political theology which questioned feudal social hierarchies, established forms of property over land, and the official absolutist vision of authority. About the speaker: Kirill Ospovat is an associate professor of Russian at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the author of two books on…

People in this episode

Guest: Kirill Ospovat

Topics covered

• Pugachev Rebellion
• democratic empowerment
• universal rights
• eighteenth-century Europe
• Cossacks
• Russian serfs
• Bashkir nomads

Keywords

• Pugachev Rebellion
• democracy
• Russian history
• Cossacks
• serfs
• Bashkir
• eighteenth century
• political theology

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Places: Russian Empire, steppe