‘Do Not Fall under the Burden of Evils that Oppress a Person’: Young M. M. Speransky in his Diaries, Letters and Sermons (1786–1800)

Abstract

An outstanding statesman of the Russian Empire, Count M. M. Speransky (1772–1839) came from the lower clergy of the Vladimir province and, thanks to his talents and labors, made an impressive career under three monarchs: Paul I, Alexander I and Nicholas I. However, M. M. Speransky went through the deepest catastrophes of a political and personal nature in his life. Speransky was not a physically strong person, but he bravely endured all the hardships. His mental and spiritual structure had a very strong spiritual foundation. The article examines that era in the life of M. M. Speransky, when he had not yet become interested in Western mysticism. Speransky received a brilliant and predominantly secular education at the Alexander Nevsky Seminary for those times and combined it with his original state of mind. Personal letters, diaries and sermons of the young M. M. Speransky is already shown both by his brilliant education and the depth of his personality. In these documents, their author unwittingly foresaw much of his future life path.