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Te, Kto Popravliaet Fortunu"

Avantiuristy Prosveshcheniia

The author characterizes an adventurer of the Enlightenment as half philosopher and half fop, whose highest ambition was similar to that of Voltaire and Diderot – to educate monarchs. The 18th century strove to civilize the whole Christian world in the French way. To this end many daredevils embarked upon a journey to the “North”, i.e. to Russia, where they were often treated with scorn or suspicion. Restless, unconventional and charismatic, they could climb up the social ladder if they chose to apply their talents to espionage, join Freemasonry, or (least likely) attain prominence as financiers. Among the famed adventurers who visited Russia were Casanova, Cagliostro, Bernardin St. Pierre, the Zanovich brothers, and others. As parvenus deliberately turned their lives into works of art, their biographies are analyzed as unified texts and are compared against typical narratives of the epoch. In the course of their travels within a social, literary and geographical space, adventurers seduced societies and transformed the world, offering utopian plans. Supplements include short biographies, name index.