In the excerpts from On the Corruption of Morals in Russia, Shcherbatov is particularly disturbed by the fact that the desire for luxury and extravagance was becoming what drove court life and what was valued most by the Empress. Shcherbatov believes that values such as loyalty, nobility and devoutness were replaced by greed, ostentation and envy. Shcherbatov gives several examples of the declining morals of the Russian court, with the strongest example being that of Count Shuvalov. According to Shcherbatov, Count Shuvalov used a variety of means to cozy up to Empress Elizabeth and with the power that he gained used the State as a tool to enrich himself. His actions included the formation of monopolies, the weakening of marital laws, the establishment
