5 Golitsyn: Prince A. N. Golitsyn (1773—1844), Minister of Education and Spiritual Affairs under Alexander I, head of the Bible Society, was charged with implementing the increasingly reactionary principles of the Holy Alliance.
6 Shishkov: Admiral A. S. Shishkov (1754 – 1841), President of the Russian Academy (1813 – 41), a keen Slavophile opposed to any reform of the Russian language.
7 Semyonovsky regiment: This famous regiment, founded by Peter the Great in 1687, was disbanded by Alexander I in 1820 following a mutinous protest against a German commander, with cruel punishments meted out to its members.
8 fifty years ago: War and Peace was completed in 1869.
9 posted to Turkey: In 1795 Napoleon applied unsuccessfully for a posting in Turkey for the purpose of reorganizing the Sultan’s artillery.
10 During the wars in Italy . . . while he is still there: By the time General Suvorov entered northern Italy and defeated the French in 1799 Napoleon had left for Egypt.
11 Not unto us . . . but unto Thy Name: At the instigation of Alexander I these, the opening words of Psalm 115, were inscribed on a victory medal of 1812.
12 Laocoön: In Greek mythology, a Trojan prince who offended the gods and was strangled by a sea-serpent.
13 the Bible Society: The Russian Bible Society had been formed in 1813 by A. N. Golitsyn, a lifelong friend of Alexander I, who was influenced by the society’s reactionary views concerning the superiority of the Gospel over scientific methods of study and education. The society would be suppressed in 1826 by Tsar Nicholas I.
14 Gossner and Madame Tatawinova: The Munich-born pastor and mystic Johann Gossner was expelled from Bavaria in 1817 and invited to Petersburg by the Russian Bible Society, of which he became a popular director. Also in 1817, E. F. Tatarinova founded a ‘spiritual union’ in Petersburg which enabled its followers to achieve ecstasy and make prophecies through dervish-like dancing.
15 Madame Kwüdner: Baroness Barbara Juliana Krüdener (1764 – 1825), a popular sentimental novelist from Riga, living in Petersburg in 1821, whose mystical writings held a strong appeal for Alexander I.
16 Magnitsky: M. L. Magnitsky (1778 – 1855), Minister of Education and Spiritual Affairs in 1819, was despised by the liberals for his reactionary attitudes and oppressive measures.
17 Pugachov: Yemelyan Pugachov (1726—75), the Cossack leader of a revolutionary movement, ultimately ill fated, in the Volga region during the years 1773 – 5.
18 Tugendbund: A German patriotic league (founded in 1808) devoted to the overthrow of Napoleon.
19 Wussian bunt: A pun on the German word bund (union) and the Russian word bunt (riot).
20 Mucius Scaevola: The Roman Gaius Mucius Scaevola famously showed resistance to torture by thrusting his right hand into a fire and holding it there until it was consumed. ‘Scaevola’ means ‘left-handed’.
PART II
1 Gibbon to Buckle: Edward Gibbon (1737—94), an English historian, best known for his six-volume Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776 – 88). Thomas Henry Buckle (1821 – 62), a self-educated English intellectual, chess-player and cultural historian, best known for his two-volume History of Civilization (1857 – 61).
2 Thiers: Adolphe Thiers (1797—1877), statesman and historian, twice Prime Minister of France.
3 Lanfrey: Pierre Lanfrey (1828 – 77) began publishing a historical study highly critical of Napoleon as Tolstoy completed War and Peace.
4 Gervinus and Schlosser: G. G. Gervinus and F. C. Schlosser were contemporary German historians.
5 seized at Boulogne: Louis Napoleon, nephew of Napoleon, was arrested at Boulogne in 1840 after his second attempt to seize the throne.
6 Rousseau, Diderot, Beaumarchais: Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712—78), French philosopher and writer, author of the Social Contract (see volume I, Part I, note 10); Denis Diderot (1713—84), French Enlightenment philosopher and one of the authors of the Encyclopédie, a major work of eighteenth-century rationalist thought; Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732—99), French playwright, author of The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro, which satirized the ruling classes of pre-revolutionary France.
7 Kurbsky: Prince Andrey Kurbsky (1528—83), one of Ivan the Great’s principal boyars, left the country in order to criticize Ivan for his cruelty; Ivan responded by arguing the need for a strong autocracy.
