Les Jésuites dans l'Empire russe (1772-1820)

Daniel Beauvois : The Jesuits in the Russian empire, 1772-1820. A small group of Jesuits, Russian subjects since the division of Poland in 1772, survived thanks to Catherine after abolition in 1773, and exerted consi¬ derable influence. In 1812 they founded an Academy at Polock, aided by the intervention of J. de Maistre, but they met with opposition from the University of Vilna with its strong Enlightenment tradition. This conflict is studied in de Maistre's letters to the minister Razumovskij and in the University's arguments. The author examines the size of the Society, its teaching and publications, and considers the reasons for their expulsion in 1820, seen as a nationalistic and religious reaction to their blatant proselytising.Beauvois Daniel. Les Jésuites dans l'Empire russe (1772-1820). In: Dix-huitième Siècle, n°8, 1976. Les Jésuites. pp. 257-272