Even before Catherine II (1729\u20131796) turned to Voltaire, the Russian court had already made efforts to attract influential European thinkers. One of them was Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646\u20131716), who hoped to become a mentor to Peter the Great and help him reform the Russian state. As late as the 1660s, the German philosopher still viewed Russia as a barbaric state that threatened European civilization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor many years, Leibniz saw Poland as a stronghold at the edge of the Latin world, while Moscow, in his view, still belonged to Asia. But when Augustus II (1670\u20131733), King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, did not appoint him president of the Saxon Academy of Sciences, his outlook shifted. He turned instead to Peter the Great, who promised him an important position at the Moscow court \u2013 later the St. Petersburg court \u2013 and an annual salary,\u201d the historian explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leibniz came to view Russia as a blank slate \u2013 a tabula rasa<\/em> \u2013 ready to be shaped by ideas of progress. He imagined himself as the spiritual father of a new Russia. His case illustrates how strong the temptation was to shape the destiny of a great power \u2013 and how easily intellectuals could turn a blind eye to harsh realities in exchange for influence and prestige.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recasting Russia as a civilized power required the creation of a contrasting \u201cbarbarian.\u201d That role gradually came to be assigned to Poland. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, long seen as a bulwark of Western Christendom, was increasingly pushed to the margins. Its former image as the \u201cstronghold of Latin civilization\u201d was steadily displaced by a new narrative centered on Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEvery \u2018good\u2019 model needs a counterexample. If Russia was to be seen as a civilized state, another country had to be cast in the role of the barbarian,\u201d says Dr. Kordel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This reversal did not happen overnight. By the early 18th century, Russia was increasingly described in Europe as a country capable of becoming civilized \u2013 provided it had the right mentors. It was precisely such advisers, including Leibniz and later Voltaire, that Russian rulers actively sought out. This shift in perceptions of Russia and Poland \u2013 what historians today call the \u201cRussian mirage\u201d \u2013 proved crucial for the future of Eastern Europe. Parallel to this propaganda push, there was a systematic focus on the weaknesses of the Commonwealth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSince the time of Peter the Great, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had effectively functioned as a Russian protectorate. Russian rulers decided who would sit on the Polish throne, first elevating Augustus III and later Stanis\u0142aw August (1732\u20131798). They blocked political, military, and fiscal reforms. Moreover, whenever an opportunity arose to destabilize the Commonwealth, they readily took it,\u201d the researcher emphasizes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prussia pursued similar aims. Poland\u2019s weakness was seen as a precondition for the strength of its neighbors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One issue that both Prussia and Russia could exploit to interfere in the internal politics of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth concerned so-called dissidents \u2013 Protestants and Eastern Orthodox Christians. In the 16th century and the early decades of the 17th, members of all Christian confessions, especially among the nobility enjoyed full religious tolerance and political equality. In later decades, however, the political rights of non-Catholics were gradually restricted, although their position remained relatively favorable compared with conditions in England or the Netherlands. They were free to practice their religion and, until the 1730s, could still serve in the Sejm and in the tribunals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt the beginning of Stanis\u0142aw August\u2019s reign, when the king, together with the Czartoryski faction, sought to introduce major constitutional reforms \u2013 including the abolition of the liberum veto<\/em> \u2013 and thereby strengthen the state, both Russia and Prussia objected. The dissident question offered a convenient pretext for intervention. They demanded that the Warsaw court grant full political equality to Protestants and Orthodox Christians. In Western Europe, such a solution would have been unthinkable; no comparable system existed at the time. For the sake of public opinion, the issue was therefore framed as one of religious tolerance \u2013 that is, the freedom to practice one\u2019s own rite \u2013 which was already formally guaranteed in Poland,\u201d explains Dr. Kordel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Religious tolerance had been one of the central themes of Enlightenment debate since the late 1750s and early 1760s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Catherine II capitalized on Enlightenment debates about tolerance. Although she presented herself within Russia as a defender of Orthodoxy, in Western Europe she sought to appear as an enlightened ruler who, having absorbed the leading philosophical works of the time, intended to apply their principles in practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To secure Voltaire\u2019s favor \u2013 the era\u2019s most prominent celebrity intellectual \u2013 the empress decided to purchase his library. By spending the considerable sum of 30,000 rubles, she reinforced her image as a patron of learning, science, and culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe was able to use this library until his death, after which the collection was sent to St. Petersburg, where part of it remains to this day,\u201d says Dr. Kordel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Between 1767 and 1771, Russian diplomats supplied Voltaire with briefing materials and notes that he used to craft texts justifying Russian intervention in Poland ostensibly in defense of the dissidents\u2014portrayed as a mission of salvation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRussian soldiers brought peace. As Voltaire argued, their arrival in Poland meant that every province they entered flourished \u2013 order was restored and agricultural yields increased. This humanitarian mission, which he claimed was carried out without a single drop of blood being shed, was meant to demonstrate Catherine II\u2019s benevolent intentions. In reality, however, it was a military intervention justified through the rhetoric of \u2019peaceful order,\u2019 the researcher explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Voltaire not only failed to protest Russian violence \u2013 he actively endorsed it and expressed gratitude to Catherine II:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYour generous concern for establishing freedom of conscience in Poland is a blessing that cannot go uncelebrated. On behalf of all humanity, I dare to speak out on this matter,\u201d Voltaire wrote to the empress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is a perfect example of how the philosopher became embedded in the machinery of imperial propaganda,\u201d comments Dr. Kordel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Politically, the aim was to block planned political, fiscal, and military reforms in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Voltaire produced several pamphlets that circulated widely across Western Europe. Some were commissioned, while others were written on his own initiative in an effort to further ingratiate himself with Catherine II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Russians took great care to ensure that the version of events presented in his pamphlets aligned with their expectations. When he made an error, as in one case in 1767, he was required to correct it, and the entire print run was sent to the paper mill,\u201d notes the historian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The philosopher widely celebrated as a symbol of Enlightenment ideals and freedom of thought had no qualms about producing and promoting Russian propaganda. Voltaire\u2019s case serves as a reminder to approach the opinions of supposedly \u201cindependent experts\u201d with caution \u2013 especially when they address political and social issues in the language of concern and compassion.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPoland as a negative example<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The role of dissidents<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How many libraries does it take to buy Voltaire?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Voltaire, freedom, and rubles<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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