The 18th century, traditionally referred to in historical literature as the Age of Enlightenment in Europe, was characterized by the struggle of a developing capitalist society with feudalism, the awakening of nations, and fundamental changes in the culture of European peoples. It has always attracted the attention of specialists of various sciences and knowledge. At the same time, its transitional nature, inconsistency and dynamism of historical phenomena at that time made it difficult to study.
In recent years, the Soviet Union and other socialist countries have increased their attention to Education in Central and South-Eastern Europe1 due to the urgency of the problem of historical transition periods. At the same time, an approach to the study of Enlightenment in the context of historical and cultural development has been outlined. Various aspects of the cultural history of the peoples of the region under consideration in the second half of the XVIII - early XIX centuries were reflected in a number of collective works, yearbooks, and collections published in the USSR, 2 as well as in reports of Soviet scientists at international congresses of historians .3 Monographs appeared on the Enlightenment and development of artistic culture in certain lands during this period4 .
1 V. I. Lenin used the term "Eastern Europe" in the pre-October period, referring to Austria-Hungary, the Balkans, and Russia. In 1912, he wrote: "In Eastern Europe - in the Balkans, in Austria, and in Russia - we see, along with areas of highly developed capitalism, the oppression of the masses by feudalism, absolutism, and thousands of remnants of the Middle Ages" (Lenin V. I. PSS. Vol.22, p. 136). In modern Soviet historiography, beyond the western part of this area (as applied to the XVIII century). this is Poland, the Austrian Monarchy and the Balkans) established the name "Central and South-Eastern Europe". In this sense, it is also used in this article.
2 Culture and society in the era of ...
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