1770s – things are changing, major transitions from neo-classicism and the aesthetics and politics of the Enlightenment
it’s a slow process and many people claim it lasts right up to Romanticism
The Big Three have become / are becoming models rather than part of the living tradition
New writers are emerging, experimenting with different styles, points of view, lexicon
Гуковский wrote a great book about these changes, he wrote about this world of the nobility which has a particular outlook and supports the status quo, but is also the place where liberalism will grow
Claims that the decline of classicism and rise of sentimentalism is a result of Pugachev rebellion: how?
Idea that these is a firm foundation to the Empire doesn’t seem so firm or unshakeable anymore – these seeds of doubt incline people to look elsewhere (there are probably other causes as well, such as the one at play in Europe)
Let’s not forget 1762 and Peter III -> nobility freed from obligation of service, and it takes a while for these effects to be seen
Instead of serving, noblemen could retire to their estates, admire the beauty of nature --- look at Derzhavin’s ode to some nature
If you no longer conceptualize your life as service to the state, you find other value -? You can find aesthetic values, and your poetry doesn’t have to serve the state or have any civic goal