“Picturesque Russia” (1878/1881–1901) As a Method of Constructing the Russian Imperial Identity (On the Example of the Poles)

The article is devoted to the landmark publication Picturesque Russia. Our Fatherland in its geographical, historical, tribal, economic and everyday significance (1879/1881–1901), which was the first and only example of its time of a detailed and comprehensive description of Russia in a popular scie...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Larisa M. Arzhakova
Format: Article
Language:Russian
Published: Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Slavic Studies 2022-02-01
Series:Славянский мир в третьем тысячелетии
Subjects:
Online Access:https://slavicworld.ru/index.php/jsw/article/view/306
_version_ 1818356230251347968
author Larisa M. Arzhakova
author_facet Larisa M. Arzhakova
author_sort Larisa M. Arzhakova
collection DOAJ
description The article is devoted to the landmark publication Picturesque Russia. Our Fatherland in its geographical, historical, tribal, economic and everyday significance (1879/1881–1901), which was the first and only example of its time of a detailed and comprehensive description of Russia in a popular scientific form, but with strict reliance on scientific literature. The initiator and first publisher was M. O. Wolf, one of the most successful book publishers and booksellers in Russia. Many prominent representatives of science and culture took part in the preparation of the 19-volume edition. Particularly significant amongst them were N. I. Kostomarov, I. E. Zabelin, D. I. Ilovaisky, P. A. Kulish, and V. V. Chuiko. The editor-in-chief of the publication was P. P. Semenov (from 1906, P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky). Volumes of Picturesque Russia consisted of essays devoted to all regions of the Russian Empire and were mainly of an ethnographic, geographical, and statistical nature. The importance of the volumes about the Kingdom of Poland is that they contain historical information to a greater extent than other volumes of the publication. From the point of view of the stated topic, essays of particular interest are those of author V. V. Chuiko focusing on the periods of Polish history before, during, and after the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The essays on state and political history allows us to analyse, from the point of view of the authors, their place and role in the context of Russian historical Polonistics and the Polish question. In addition, the work was an attempt to construct imperial identity, which was supposed to supersede – or replace – national identity in the modern history of the Russian Empire. The author of the article comes to the conclusion that Picturesque Russia, especially the Polish historical essays, is fertile material, the content of which it is advisable to analyse from the point of view of widespread (or just emerging) technologies of power in the empire.
first_indexed 2024-12-13T19:53:54Z
format Article
id doaj.art-46e62bff05754320acf76bdc356b2851
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2412-6446
language Russian
last_indexed 2024-12-13T19:53:54Z
publishDate 2022-02-01
publisher Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Slavic Studies
record_format Article
series Славянский мир в третьем тысячелетии
spelling doaj.art-46e62bff05754320acf76bdc356b28512022-12-21T23:33:21ZrusRussian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Slavic StudiesСлавянский мир в третьем тысячелетии2412-64462022-02-01163-4173610.31168/2412-6446.2021.16.3-4.02“Picturesque Russia” (1878/1881–1901) As a Method of Constructing the Russian Imperial Identity (On the Example of the Poles)Larisa M. Arzhakova0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8260-4101Institute of Slavic Studies, Russian Academy of SciencesThe article is devoted to the landmark publication Picturesque Russia. Our Fatherland in its geographical, historical, tribal, economic and everyday significance (1879/1881–1901), which was the first and only example of its time of a detailed and comprehensive description of Russia in a popular scientific form, but with strict reliance on scientific literature. The initiator and first publisher was M. O. Wolf, one of the most successful book publishers and booksellers in Russia. Many prominent representatives of science and culture took part in the preparation of the 19-volume edition. Particularly significant amongst them were N. I. Kostomarov, I. E. Zabelin, D. I. Ilovaisky, P. A. Kulish, and V. V. Chuiko. The editor-in-chief of the publication was P. P. Semenov (from 1906, P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky). Volumes of Picturesque Russia consisted of essays devoted to all regions of the Russian Empire and were mainly of an ethnographic, geographical, and statistical nature. The importance of the volumes about the Kingdom of Poland is that they contain historical information to a greater extent than other volumes of the publication. From the point of view of the stated topic, essays of particular interest are those of author V. V. Chuiko focusing on the periods of Polish history before, during, and after the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The essays on state and political history allows us to analyse, from the point of view of the authors, their place and role in the context of Russian historical Polonistics and the Polish question. In addition, the work was an attempt to construct imperial identity, which was supposed to supersede – or replace – national identity in the modern history of the Russian Empire. The author of the article comes to the conclusion that Picturesque Russia, especially the Polish historical essays, is fertile material, the content of which it is advisable to analyse from the point of view of widespread (or just emerging) technologies of power in the empire.https://slavicworld.ru/index.php/jsw/article/view/306the kingdom of polandnational identitypolonisticsthe polish questionpicturesque russiam. o. wolfpublishing projectrussian empireimage of empire
spellingShingle Larisa M. Arzhakova
“Picturesque Russia” (1878/1881–1901) As a Method of Constructing the Russian Imperial Identity (On the Example of the Poles)
Славянский мир в третьем тысячелетии
the kingdom of poland
national identity
polonistics
the polish question
picturesque russia
m. o. wolf
publishing project
russian empire
image of empire
title “Picturesque Russia” (1878/1881–1901) As a Method of Constructing the Russian Imperial Identity (On the Example of the Poles)
title_full “Picturesque Russia” (1878/1881–1901) As a Method of Constructing the Russian Imperial Identity (On the Example of the Poles)
title_fullStr “Picturesque Russia” (1878/1881–1901) As a Method of Constructing the Russian Imperial Identity (On the Example of the Poles)
title_full_unstemmed “Picturesque Russia” (1878/1881–1901) As a Method of Constructing the Russian Imperial Identity (On the Example of the Poles)
title_short “Picturesque Russia” (1878/1881–1901) As a Method of Constructing the Russian Imperial Identity (On the Example of the Poles)
title_sort picturesque russia 1878 1881 1901 as a method of constructing the russian imperial identity on the example of the poles
topic the kingdom of poland
national identity
polonistics
the polish question
picturesque russia
m. o. wolf
publishing project
russian empire
image of empire
url https://slavicworld.ru/index.php/jsw/article/view/306
work_keys_str_mv AT larisamarzhakova picturesquerussia187818811901asamethodofconstructingtherussianimperialidentityontheexampleofthepoles