A striking element in A Journey To From St. Petersburg to Moscowand its prologue is liberality from those who have benefitted from the system they now criticize. Though he benefitted from his predecessors’ use of serfs, he disagreed with the practice. I believe that made his adherence to his principles even more persuasive, as he believed about his cause so much, sacrificed his possible wealth for the cause.

While Radishchev was harsh towards the idea of censorship and drafting, some of his harshest criticisms of the Russian lifestyle and economy were against the practice of serfdom. On several occasions throughout the text, Radishchev lambasts masters for both their cruel treatment of their serfs and peasants, but also the economic advantages those masters collect from them. In one example on page 268, Radishchev says it’s unfair how a man can force hundreds, possibly even a thousand workers to break their backs working in his field, only for the master to be praised as an expert in agriculture. Though he grew up with peasants, Radishchev said that those who benefit so much from the work of others didn’t deserve the right to be citizens, and claimed that they were criminals, and should be stigmatized as thieves for their collection of the fruits of others’ labor. Though some may believe that his upbringing undercuts his point, I contend the opposite; that his arguments against serfdom and subjugation were actually given more credence because of his upbringing. This means that his convictions were so strong he turned his back on the tradition on which his rank and power were based. I’d be interested to hear about other perspectives on this, and whether it seems hypocritical to criticize a system upon which his rank was built.

Another reason I believe Radishchev’s devotion to his principles are true is because we see an example of someone in his position that could have opposed serfdom but defaulted to the traditional custom. From the story of the man on page 275, we saw a master who benefitted from serfdom and failed to completely abandon and condemn the practice, with his wife ensuring he treated his serfs like other gentry did. While Radishchev could have fallen in line with that man, he didn’t, and still renounced serfdom, which to me showed great backbone against an institution that could have turned him into the monster he castigated.