British travelers’ impressions of the Russians during the reign of Alexander II
This article examines the image of Russia and its people in the travelogues of British travelers during the rule of Alexander II (1855–1881). In reality, hardly anybody from Britain visited the country of the tsars, and very few could speak its language. The upper classes, mostly nobility, surprised...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences
2016-09-01
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| Series: | Studia Litterarum |
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| Online Access: | http://old.studlit.ru/articles/Sakowicz%20I.pdf |
| _version_ | 1819225599065980928 |
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| author | Iwona Sakowicz |
| author_facet | Iwona Sakowicz |
| author_sort | Iwona Sakowicz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article examines the image of Russia and its people in the travelogues of British travelers during the rule of Alexander II (1855–1881). In reality, hardly anybody from Britain visited the country of the tsars, and very few could speak its language. The upper classes, mostly nobility, surprised English visitors with their Western European looks, good manners, and elegance. However, generalizations about Russians as a nation were based on the observations of lower classes, mostly coachmen. Russians in the opinion of the travelers were faithless, servile, and lazy. Slavonic passivity made them perfectly fit for the absolutist rule. Russia was perceived as a semi-barbaric and despotic country. Over the period of 25 years, there were no substantial changes in the travelers’ descriptions of the country. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T10:12:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ac6a41e5ecb445d7aa5366bc9522e098 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2500-4247 2541-8564 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T10:12:09Z |
| publishDate | 2016-09-01 |
| publisher | A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Studia Litterarum |
| spelling | doaj.art-ac6a41e5ecb445d7aa5366bc9522e0982022-12-21T17:50:56ZengA.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of SciencesStudia Litterarum2500-42472541-85642016-09-0111-221121810.22455/2500-4247-2016-1-1-2-211-218British travelers’ impressions of the Russians during the reign of Alexander IIIwona Sakowicz0Uniwersytet Gdański Instytut HistoriiThis article examines the image of Russia and its people in the travelogues of British travelers during the rule of Alexander II (1855–1881). In reality, hardly anybody from Britain visited the country of the tsars, and very few could speak its language. The upper classes, mostly nobility, surprised English visitors with their Western European looks, good manners, and elegance. However, generalizations about Russians as a nation were based on the observations of lower classes, mostly coachmen. Russians in the opinion of the travelers were faithless, servile, and lazy. Slavonic passivity made them perfectly fit for the absolutist rule. Russia was perceived as a semi-barbaric and despotic country. Over the period of 25 years, there were no substantial changes in the travelers’ descriptions of the country.http://old.studlit.ru/articles/Sakowicz%20I.pdfRussiatravelerstraveloguespublic opinion |
| spellingShingle | Iwona Sakowicz British travelers’ impressions of the Russians during the reign of Alexander II Studia Litterarum Russia travelers travelogues public opinion |
| title | British travelers’ impressions of the Russians during the reign of Alexander II |
| title_full | British travelers’ impressions of the Russians during the reign of Alexander II |
| title_fullStr | British travelers’ impressions of the Russians during the reign of Alexander II |
| title_full_unstemmed | British travelers’ impressions of the Russians during the reign of Alexander II |
| title_short | British travelers’ impressions of the Russians during the reign of Alexander II |
| title_sort | british travelers impressions of the russians during the reign of alexander ii |
| topic | Russia travelers travelogues public opinion |
| url | http://old.studlit.ru/articles/Sakowicz%20I.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT iwonasakowicz britishtravelersimpressionsoftherussiansduringthereignofalexanderii |