| The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07. |
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| Chaadayev, Piotr Yakovlevich |
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(pyô´t r yä´kvly vch chädä´y v) (KEY) , 1794–1856, Russian philosopher. An aristocrat by birth, he was converted to Roman Catholicism. In 1836 the first of his Philosophical Letters appeared in a Moscow journal. Its devastating attack on Russian institutions, such as autocracy, the church, and serfdom, created a sensation. Chaadayev was declared insane and was confined to his home. His vigorous writings helped clarify the basic differences between the Slavophiles and Westernizers. | 1 | | See his major works, ed. by R. T. McNally (1969); study by R. T. McNally (1971). | 2 |
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| | | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright © 2007 Columbia University Press. |
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