 Russia's place in the world was debated by Denis Fonvizin, Mikhail Shcherbatov, Andrey Bolotov, Alexander Radishchev, and Ivan Boltin; these discussions precipitated the divide between the radical, western, conservative and Slavophile traditions of Russian thought.Intellectuals often used the term prosveshchenie, promoting piety, erudition, and commitment to the spread of learning.The ideas of the Russian Enlightenment were first espoused by the "learned druzhina" of Peter the Great.