On the Corruption of Morals in Russia

On the Corruption of Morals in Russia, is the most celebrated work of the Russian historian, philosopher and publicist Prince M. M. Shcherbatov (1733–90). Written towards the close of the reign of Catherine the Great, it is half memoir, half polemic, comprising a survey of Russian history in the eighteenth century from the point of view of a moral censor, and an outspoken attack on the decline of morals at the Court of St Petersburg, written by an aristocrat of exceptional erudition and strong conservative views, who was present at the Court of Catherine II, and knew well the persons and events which he describes. The work was not published during the author's lifetime; not surprisingly, since its contents were highly treasonable. The text, which is collated from the three primary manuscript copies of the original, is the first to include all important textual variants.