Influence of Enlightenment Philosophy on the Dynamics of Secularization of Russian Culture in the XVIII Century

The article scrutinizes the problem of the influence of Enlightenment philosophy on the dynamics of secularization of Russian culture in the XVIII century. The necessity of analyzing the selected time period is substantiated in view of the renaissance of Orthodox culture in modern Russia. The work defines the fundamental difference between Orthodox culture and secular (secular-minded) culture, presents the main philosophical ideas disseminated in the Russian state in the XVIII century, identifies and characterizes the factors associated with the influence of Enlightenment philosophy on the isolation of church consciousness during the reign of Peter the Great, Empress Elizabeth and Catherine II. It is revealed that the dissemination of the ideas of Enlightenment philosophers, contributing to the development of secularization processes in Russian culture, in the XVIII century had a progressive character, being closely related to the person who stood at the head of the state. Based on the results obtained it is established that the quantitative-qualitative gap caused by the influence of Enlightenment philosophy occurred in Russian culture during the reign of Catherine II.