Philosophical Letters

One of the most famous scandalous journalistic works in the entire history of Russia, the publication of only the first part of which caused shock, drove the entourage of Nicholas I into a rage, which led to the declaration of... the author as insane, isolation in his own house, and a ban on literary activity, while ensuring the wide popularity of the Philosophical Letters in educated circles of society, where they were disseminated in manuscript form. What heretical statements did the dissident of Nicholas's era make? He stated that there is only one way for the progressive development of humanity — the Western European one; that Russia's special path is a lag behind this development; that the image of God in man is contained in the striving for freedom, and that love for the Motherland is not equivalent to love for its shortcomings and should be expressed in the desire to see them and eliminate them.