I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 33 Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
As for the biggest gain from this party, Mikhail just wanted to say that this was the first time he felt full after living in Russia for so long.

Ahem…

Another benefit is that by listening to the conversations of people around him and participating in the process to a certain extent, Mikhail is slowly sorting out the general ideological threads of today's Russian intellectuals.

There is no way around it. If you want to stay in the literary circles of this period, you definitely have to understand various political thoughts, philosophical ideas, and artistic concepts.

After all, during this period, whether it was revolution, political reform, or literature and art, to some extent, ideas came first. Often, after having a clear and noble idea, a large number of people began to pursue the new world that seemed illusory but extremely desirable.

It is only because in this era of great social turmoil, the decline of the feudal system and religious authority has indirectly created an ideological vacuum. Since today's times are very different from the past, why do people still live lives that are almost the same as before?

Because of this, philosophers, thinkers and intellectuals began to carry out a revolution in the field of thought. Among them, it was our old revolutionary base, France, that took the lead in making a big move.

First of all, rationalism, which was thoroughly promoted through the Enlightenment, made intellectuals more convinced of the power of human reason. Therefore, they began to use ideas to challenge autocracy, explain science, and conceive of utopia, thus causing a revolution in the field of thought.

Then, the domestic situation in France, the old revolutionary base, was already bad at the time, and the brainless Louis XVI was still jumping around.

Ultimately, guided by the concepts of "liberty, equality, and fraternity", the French Revolution that broke out in 1789 directly shocked the entire European world.

Louis XVI was also confused by this revolution...

In this historical context, a large number of 19th-century intellectuals such as Hegel and Fichte directly regarded thought as the driving force of historical progress. Hegel even directly put forward the philosophical proposition that "reason rules the world."

One example of the huge impact this had on Russian intellectuals was the Stankevich group established in the Department of Philosophy at Moscow University in 1831. This group mainly studied Hegel's philosophy and advocated individual freedom and humanism.

Belinsky participated in the activities of this group many times.

However, it is worth mentioning that Belinsky's own thoughts actually underwent a huge shift.

In the late 1930s, Belinsky was once trapped in the quagmire of Hegel's thought. To put it roughly, he was trapped in the formula "existence is reasonable". Since the development of the social system itself will lead to its elimination, its survival proves its temporary rationality.

So in today's Russia, is the Tsar's rule reasonable?

Under this idea, Belinsky even supported Russian autocracy for a while.

However, as he traveled to St. Petersburg, he saw more clearly the injustice and cruelty of society, and he began to engage in rigorous self-criticism. At the same time, the revolutionary upsurge of the early 1940s, political events in Western Europe, the restoration of his friendship with Herzen, and the reading of the early materialist works of Marx, all significantly strengthened Belinsky's materialist worldview. He no longer avoided reality but began to confront it head-on.

By the way, there was a transnational collaboration between Marx and Nicholas I. It was roughly in 1843 when Marx wrote a crime of passion in the Rheinische Zeitung, denouncing the Russian Tsar:

What era is this? You're still clinging to traditional despotism! Not only do you do it yourself, but you also want others to follow you. You don't want revolution and freedom for yourselves, but you also don't want them for other countries. Are you still a human being? You're the rotten apple of the European revolutionary movement!
Although it was a transnational political conspiracy, Nicholas I did not know how he saw it, but he became furious: You are bragging, if you have the guts, come to Russia and see if I am real or not, and you will be finished!
Although Tsar Nicholas I was unable to use his visible hand to send Marco Polo to Siberia to mine, he eventually chose to use his invisible hand to protest to the King of Prussia.

When the King of Prussia learned about this, he immediately ordered the banning of the Rheinische Zeitung. In this way, Lao Ma lost his job because of the invisible hand of His Majesty the Tsar. Fortunately, he met the son of a factory owner not long after that. Although the two parties seemed to be from different classes, the son of the factory owner admired Lao Ma very much. He communicated with him, gave him money, and even acted as a ghostwriter when Lao Ma was in arrears with his manuscripts, helping Lao Ma complete some of the articles.

As for what happened next, let’s put it this way: a ghost has begun to wander across the entire European continent.

Of course, some of the above statements about Lao Ma are just abstract statements. Lao Ma would certainly not be as vulgar as Mikhail's portrayal, ahem...

To sum up, during this period, if you don’t understand various philosophical concepts, political ideas and artistic thoughts, how can you dare to call yourself an intellectual?
Then there are gatherings like salons where exchanges and communication are common. If you perform too poorly, you will be looked down upon by others, and they will never invite you to such activities again in the future.

This was totally unacceptable to Mikhail.

Being looked down upon or not wasn't a big deal; the most important thing was that if he lost the opportunity to attend the salon, where would Mikhail go to eat and drink?!
All you have to do is listen to other people bragging for a while and occasionally agree with their bragging, and you can get a good meal. Where can you find such a good thing in Russia today?
Of course, the most important things are definitely Mikhail’s articles, which are the foundation for him to stand in this era.

As for whether he could understand it after sorting it out, Mikhail did not feel too much pressure. First, the original owner had a very good foundation, and second, Mikhail was not bad either. He learned everything he should and should not read in order to get ashore.

Now that my memory has been strengthened again, I should have no problem at least understanding these things roughly. In this way, it will be more than enough for me to hang out in salons.

After all, salons are mostly populated by pretentious aristocrats.

Also due to his enhanced memory, Mikhail was now able to come up with a fairly complete set of philosophical ideas, and at the same time he shouted:
“God is dead!!!”

Then explain it in detail.

However, considering that Emperor Nicholas I was a devout Orthodox Christian, Mikhail decided to wait and see...

(End of this chapter)