The Scottish Enlightenment and the Father of Russian Jurisprudence

Desnitskii was the leading explicator in Catherine II’s Russia of British thought, especially that of the Scottish Enlightenment, and of British institutions, an influential teacher, and a socially engaged intellectual. The author, in earlier work, showed that Chapter 22 of Catherine’s Nakaz was directly influenced by Desnitskii and, indirectly, by the Moscow University Law professor’s esteemed Glasgow teacher, Adam Smith. This new article draws on digitized archival sources to cast additional light on the Scottish education of Desnitskii and his colleague Ivan Tret’iakov – on the professors with whom they interacted, the lectures they attended, and the books they read. Desnitskii was profoundly influenced by Smith and by Law Professor John Millar, and well acquainted with the inventor James Watt whom he urged Catherine to invite to Russia. In his extensive reform proposals to the Empress, Desnitskii especially championed the raznochintsy, seeking a role for them in the governing of Russia.