Hey, Mugnium,

Hey, Mugne,

Again, again, again, again,

Again, again, Welcome to the Russian rulers'clock

Episode 47, the Pukchov rebellion.

Last episode, Catherine showed her people the type of guts she had when she volunteers

to be inoculated against the dreaded disease smallpox.

She also happily takes on the Turks in battle, as well as further degrading the position

of the majority of Russians, the serfs.

As we mentioned last week, Dennis Diderot, the famous philosopher and writer who Catherine

had corresponded with over the years, came to St. Petersburg to meet his benefactor.

The visit was to last for almost two years,

and their conversations were to cover subjects

ranging from the education of Grand Duke Paul

to the treatment of serfs and the ongoing war effort against the Turks.

Their meetings were totally informal with Diderot shouting at times, waving his arms, and acting as if you were an old friend at a tavern.

Catherine commented that after a few meetings with the philosopher, she had to put a table between themselves because after the meeting she would walk away, quote,

with bruises on my knees

and black and blue spots on my thighs. The arguments they had almost always turned to the

treatment of the people, especially the serfs, which did a row, always called slaves. Catherine

objected to this. She truly believed that they were,

as Troyat puts it, quote, there were no slaves in Russia, only peasants attached to the soil.

...