Osip (less often - Joseph ) Alekseevich Pozdeev ( Russian doref .: Osip Aleksѣevich Pozdѣev ; c. 1742 - April 24 [ May 6 ] 1820 ) - Russian landowner , writer , mystic . A participant in the suppression of the Pugachev riot , an apologist for the estate division of society in the Russian Empire. One of the famous and authoritative Martinists in Tsarist Russia [1] [2] [3] .
| Osip (Joseph) Alekseevich Pozdeev | |
|---|---|
 Engraving (publ. 1913) | |
| Date of Birth | OK. 1742 |
| Date of death | April 24 ( May 6 ) 1820 |
| A country | |
| Occupation | |
Content
Biography
Osip Pozdeev was born around 1742. His father was the captain of the 2nd Grenadier Regiment of the Landmilitsky Corps Alexei Vasilyevich Pozdeev, his grandfather was the captain Vasily Matveevich Pozdeev.
In 1774, under the command of Peter Panin , Pozdeev participated in the suppression of the Pugachev uprising . In the same year he retired. In 1782-1784 he served as the ruler of the office of the Commander-in-Chief of Moscow Zakhar Chernyshev . After that, he settled in the village of Chistyakovo near Moscow.
Pozdeev abused his serfs. As can be seen from the petition filed in the name of Emperor Paul , he burdened them with excessive work, subjected to “merciless” corporal punishment, sold it to recruits. In his estate Nelyubovo of the Vologda province, he built a glass factory, for which he demanded that every man from 15 to 70 years old deliver 30 saplings of firewood and 30 quarters of ash per year. Due to hard work and harsh punishments, many peasants fled. But Pozdeev even more increased his duties, demanding from each hard worker 3 quarters of ash and 3 fathoms of firewood per week.
In 1812, due to the French invasion, Pozdeev had to move to the Nelyubovo estate. In correspondence, he rebukes Russian military leaders for the surrender of Smolensk and Moscow, fears that Napoleon will free the peasants, recalls the time of the Pugachev uprising. After the war, complains of losses incurred by the French troops.
The liberation of the peasants greatly disturbed Pozdeev. In 1814, he drafted a note entitled “Thoughts Against Giving Common People Freedom of So-Called Civil Liberty” (published without author’s reference in 1880). In it, he acted as a defender of serfdom and estate. No one, according to Pozdeyev, should strive to change his position. He repeated the same thoughts in letters to Razumovsky and Lansky in 1817 and 1818. The author of the article in the Russian Biographical Dictionary calls Pozdeev’s views obscurantist [4] .
Pozdeev died on April 24 (May 6), 1820. After him, many manuscripts remained. Some of Pozdeyev’s letters were published in the journal “ Russian Archive ” (1872) and in the book of Alexander Vasilchikov “The Razumovsky Family” (1880).
In Freemasonry
Even before 1782, when Russian Freemasonry did not have an independent organization independent of West European Freemasonry, Pozdeev was considered among the Masons to be a spiritual leader, along with Nikolai Novikov and Ivan Schwartz . In 1785 he was appointed the venerable master of the Orpheus lodge subordinate to Moscow, who worked under the Ryazan infantry regiment. In the same year he was ordained a member of the Moscow Order of the Golden Cross of Gold. In 1789, he was the ritualist of The Theoretical Degree, who survived after the closing of Moscow lodges.
Pozdeev gained particular fame after the fall of Novikov. He was considered the main patron of Freemasonry. With his direct participation, initiation into the master of lodges took place, the venerable masters of lodges turned to him for advice in all difficult cases, both theoretical and practical. Occupying a prominent position in Russian Freemasonry, Pozdeev enjoyed great authority in the circles involved in Freemasonry. He was a mentor in Freemasonry for senior officials: Alexei Razumovsky (Minister of Education) and Sergey Lansky (later Minister of the Interior). At the beginning of the XIX century, he played a role “similar to the role of the highest order chief” [2] .
Image in Art
Pozdeev served as the prototype of Joseph Alekseevich Bazdeev - a minor character of the epic novel by Leo Tolstoy “ War and Peace ”, which leads Pierre Bezukhov to Freemasonry [5] [6] . Bazdeev Tolstoy "squat, broad-shouldered, yellow, wrinkled old man with gray overhanging eyebrows over his sparkling, indefinite grayish eyes." Pierre calls him a benefactor. In the Moscow house of Bazdeev, Pierre ponders the murder of Napoleon and meets with the captain of the French army, Ramball.
Notes
- ↑ Davidovich, p. 263.
- ↑ 1 2 S. Semeka A.V. Russian Freemasonry in the 18th Century // Freemasonry in its past and present. Volume I. 1914.P. 160.
- ↑ Piksanov N.K. Masonic literature (second half of the 18th century) // History of Russian literature: In 10 volumes / AN SSSR. - M .; L .: Publishing house of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1941-1956. T. IV: 18th Century Literature. Part 2. - 1947. - S. 61.
- ↑ Davidovich, p. 264.
- ↑ Polner T. I. “War and Peace” by L. N. Tolstoy // “War and Peace”. Collection. M., 1912.S. 83.
- ↑ Andrey Ranchin . From the experience of commenting on “War and Peace” by L. N. Tolstoy: prototypes, realities, rites . Educational portal "Word".
Compositions
- From the letters of Osip Alekseevich Pozdeev to his friends // Russian Archive . Vol. 10, 1872. St. 1853-1886.
- Thoughts Against Giving Common People Freedom of the So-Called Civil Liberty // M.I. History of the Russian Academy. T. V. St. Petersburg, 1880.S. 415-427.
- Letters of O. A. Pozdeev to c. A.K. Razumovsky // A.A. Vasilchikov . The Razumovsky family. Volume Two. St. Petersburg, 1880. S. 448-518.
Literature
- Davidovich Eve. Pozdeev, Osip Alekseevich // Russian Biographical Dictionary / Ed. A.A. Polovtsova. - SPb., 1910. - T. 14. - S. 263-265.