셰르바토프의 «러시아의 도덕적 타락에 대하여»에 나타난 18세기 상류층 생활양식 변화에 대한 인식

Abstract

This paper examines the ways that Mikhail M. Shcherbatov(1733-1790), historian, man of letter and public servant, criticized daily life of the 18th century Russian nobility by analyzing his monograph, «On the Corruption of Morals in Russia». The main goal of this study is to explore the social, cultural, and economic implications imbedded in Shcherbatov’s criticisms of Russian nobles’ daily life, which had been heavily influenced by the importation of western culture and customs during the reign of Peter the Great in the early eighteenth century. Shcherbatov showed that daily life of the Russian nobility radically transformed due to Peter I’s policy of westernization. Many Russian nobles came to blindly imitate western culture, such as following French fashions, manners, and language, while some nobles pursued extravagant life by consuming luxurious foreign goods and exotic food. Shcherbatov also strongly criticized the decline of religiosity and the pursuit of a decadent private life by the noble class. He argued that adulterous and unlawful marriages as well as divorces increased among members of high society during the eighteenth century. Although Shcherbatov categorized these post-Petrine reform phenomena as the examples of “corruption of morals,” it should be noted that his categorization was based heavily on personal views of ethic and moral. Despite Shcherbatov’s subjective and personal approach to Russian society, his descriptions of the corruption of morals still give us very useful insight into the social, cultural, and economic life of the period. Shcherbatov’s strong criticism of Russian nobles’ thoughtless imitation of western culture indicates that Russian national consciousness began to emerge as a result of westernization during the eighteenth century. Luxurious and extravagant life of the nobility indicates that material life became much prosperous during the period while the decline of religiosity and increase in decadent private life implies the emancipation of the individuals from the domination of trladition and religious rituals. In this sense, therefore, Shcherbatov’s «On the Corruption of Morals» is a valuable historical source which helps us understand the social and cultural characteristics of the post-Petrine reform era of the eighteenth century.