A.N. Radishchev’s novel “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” is one of the most significant phenomena of 18th-century Russian literature. It was written in the popular “journey” genre of the time and is devoted to educating human dignity.
In this book, the author described the plight of the peasants’ situation and the ruin of agriculture. The first edition of the book, which appeared at the end of the 18th century, was destroyed by the government of Catherine II, and the book remained banned for more than 100 years.
The progressive people of the 19th century carefully preserved several copies of the first edition, read them in secret, and recopied them. In our time, the book has been republished many times based on these surviving copies.