Anton M. Demchenko

Postgraduate Student

Plekhanov Russian University of Economics

(Moscow, Russia)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22405/2712-8407-2025-2-94-101

Abstract. The relevance of the study lies in the fact that there are many unflattering myths about the activities of Masonic Orders in Russia. In the mass consciousness, Freemasonry is an adverse phenomenon in Russian history. The purpose of the article is to debunk the negative image of the Masonic movement and highlight the positive aspects of its members' activities. The author focuses on the activities of Professor Johann Schwartz, the Rosicrucian Order leader, in the field of education at Moscow University at the end of the 18th century. The author pays special attention to the influence of his pedagogical activities on the development of the university. This issue is relatively understudied in Russian historical science. When writing the work, the author uses the scientific works of V. S. Brachyov, S. P. Melgunov, M. N. Loginov, V. O. Klyuchevsky, as well as the memoirs of Moscow University students. As a result of the study, the author comes to the following conclusions: thanks to Johann Schwartz, new educational institutions such as translation and pedagogical secondary schools, and ‘Friendly Academic Society’ (many of whose members later became professors and rectors of Moscow University) appeared at the university. Schwartz's lectures shaped the future Russian intelligentsia as in his classes the professor formed students’ integral worldview and introduce them with the achievements of world culture. As a result, Johann Schwartz's educational activity at Moscow University was of a significant positive nature: it contributed to the active development of university science and laid the foundations of many scientific achievements.
Keywords: Freemasons, Rosicrucian Order, university, Moscow, enlightenment, lectures.

Full text of the article (PDF)

For citation: Demchenko, AM 2025, ‘Activity of Johann Schwarz at Moscow University at the End of the 18th Century’, Tula Scientific Bulletin. History. Linguistics, issue 2 (22), pp. 94–101, https://doi.org/10.22405/2712-8407-2025-2-94-101 (in Russ.)

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