Radishchev, Aleksandr

Radishchev, Aleksandr (Nikolayevich)

(born Aug. 31, 1749, Moscow, Russia—died Sept. 24, 1802, St. Petersburg) Russian political writer. Although from the nobility, he pursued a career as a civil servant, in which he met people from all social classes. Influenced by such writers as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, he wrote A Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow (1790), in which he described examples of social injustice, hoping that his criticism of serfdom, autocracy, and censorship would enlighten Catherine II. Instead, he was arrested and exiled to Siberia. He was pardoned by Alexander I in 1801 but committed suicide a year later. He inspired later revolutionaries, including those who instigated the Decembrist revolt.