Education
Labzin attended the Moscow University, where he came to know two leading Freemasons, Ivan Schwarz and Nikolay Novikov.
Labzin attended the Moscow University, where he came to know two leading Freemasons, Ivan Schwarz and Nikolay Novikov.
He also had time to translate Jakob Böhme and Pierre Beaumarchais, as well as write his own poetry. Labzin revived the tradition of Novikov"s "libertine" magazines with "The Messenger of Sion", a religious monthly that celebrated a "religion of the heart" and rebelled against the ritualistic side of Orthodox worship. The magazine was attacked by the church officials led by Photius Spassky and was discontinued.
In 1822 he was exiled to Simbirsk for opposing Arakcheyev"s election to the Academy of Arts.
When told that Arakcheyev was "the nearest person to His Majesty", Labzin proposed to elect the Tsar"s coachman instead "not only as being the nearest to the emperor, but having a seat before his majesty". He died in exile.