Krechetov, Fedor

Krechetov, Fedor Vasil’evich 

Born in the early 1740’s; year of death unknown. Russian enlightener and free-thinker.

Krechetov began his social work in the mid-1780’s. Around 1785 he created a secret enlightenment society. He called for limitations on the autocracy, equal civil rights, court reform, freedom of speech, equal rights for women, and vigorous dissemination of knowledge among the common people.

In 1786, Krechetov began to publish the journal Ne vse i ne nichego (Not Everything and Not Nothing), which was censored after the first issue appeared. In 1793 he was arrested and sentenced to solitary confinement for life in Peter and Paul Fortress; he was later transferred to ShlissePburg Fortress. He was freed in the amnesty of 1801. Krechetov’s subsequent fate is unknown. His political views were inconsistent and limited by the frame-work of aristocratic enlightenment activities. Krechetov addressed his views about equality and brotherhood to all people and classes equally, even to the monarchy and the church, calling on them to merge into a single, universal alliance “for the prosperity of humanity.” At the same time, Krechetov did not reject violent revolutionary action in the event that enlightenment activities should prove inadequate to change the existing order.

WORKS

In the book Russkie prosvetiteli (ot Radishcheva do dekabristov), vol. 2. Moscow, 1966.

REFERENCES

Chulkov, N. “F. V. Krechetov—zabytyi radikal’nyi publitsist XVIII v.” In Literaturnoe nasledstvo, vols. 9–10. Moscow, 1933.
Svetlov, L. “A. N. Radishchev i politicheskie protsessy kontsa XVIII v.” In Iz istorii russkoi filosofii XVIII-XIX vv. Moscow, 1952.
Sivkov, K. V., and S. V. Paparigopulo. “O vzgliadakh Fedora Krechetova.” Voprosy istorii, 1956, no. 3.