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Old myths and new meanings. Transformations of the European image of Russia in the 1820s, illustrated by German political journalism
By the early 1820s, Russia's image in Europe had undergone a series of transformations and combined opposing evaluative vectors. New positive and old negative stereotypes coexisted. Old propaganda clichés from the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars were either largely eliminated from discourse or acquired new meanings. These primarily concerned myths about Russian military expansion into Europe and the creation of a "universal monarchy" as a permanent foreign policy doctrine bequeathed by Peter the Great. During the public debates of the 1820s, these old myths acquired new, contemporary meaning. For Europeans, including Germans, the Russian state no longer served as a symbol of external aggression and a pretext for military mobilization, but rather as a tool for reflection on domestic problems, a projection of their own hopes and fears.
Keywords: Europe; Germany; Russia; political journalism; Russian expansion into Europe; international security system; liberal reforms"Poland will rise again!" The image of Poland in Germany in the period between the Polish uprisings of 1794 and 1830. The origins of German political Polonophilia
The short period between the two Polish uprisings of 1794 and 1830, perceived in Germany as part of the liberation struggle of European nations against Russian tyranny for national independence, marked the emergence and development of German political Polonophilia as part of the liberal ideology of the first third of the 19th century. The chain of events – the adoption of the constitution by the Polish Sejm on May 3, 1791, the second partition of Poland (1793), the bloody suppression of the Kościuszko Uprising (1794), the third partition (1795), and, in particular, the 1830 uprising in the Kingdom of Poland – found a response in German political literature, manifesting itself in the form of sympathy for the defeated insurgents, as well as a reflection on the theme of unrealized constitutional reforms and the struggle for national independence. At the same time, it was a reaction to the rise of Russia in Europe and the fear of its territorial expansion further into German lands.
Keywords: partitions of Poland; Germany; “Russian threat”; “May 3rd” constitution; Kosciuszko Uprising; Polonophilia; “Polish freedom”; “noble Pole"How Could You Believe That I Don't Care About Poland!.." The Polish Uprising of 1830–31, its Place in the European "War of the Main Antagonistic Principles" and the Reaction of the Liberal Part of German Society
The article attempts to examine the Polish November Uprising of 1830/31 in the paradigm of the political discourse about the “European war of the main antagonistic principles” against the background of the series of revolutions of 1830/31. In addition, the study focuses on the phenomenon of German societies of “friends of Poland” as an attempt at self-identification of civil society on the one hand, and an instrument of mass liberal propaganda and political manipulation on the other
Keywords: Polish revolution; Germany; liberals; German societies of friends of Poland; regional press; Gambach holiday“We are considered huns... ” The Growth of Anti-Russian Sentiment in Germany in the 30–40 Years of the XIX Century and the Response of the Ruling Circles of Russia
By analyzing a diverse layer of domestic sources, the article attempts to trace the reaction of Russian society and the ruling circles of Russia to the growth of anti-Russian sentiments in Europe in the 1930s – 1940s of XIX century, as well as to identify the measures by which various government departments tried to influence public opinion in Germany, forming a positive image of their country.Keywords: Russia; Germany; Russophobia; public opinion; press; journalism; propaganda“The war of quills”. F.I.Tyutchev and his “Project” to Create a Positive Image of Russia in Germany in the Early 40s of the 19th century
The early 40s of the 19th century were marked by the growth of anti-Russian sentiments in Europe. It provoked a number of retaliatory measures from the Russian government. The article discusses one of the “projects” for the formation of a positive image of Russia in Germany, proposed by the poet, publicist and diplomat F. I. Tyutchev. We are talking about a note on the organization of pro-Russian propaganda in the German press, presented by Tyutchev to the head of the III Department A. H. Benckendorf in the autumn of 1843.Keywords: Russia; Germany; Russophobia; public opinion; press; journalism; propagandaGerman and Russian Cinema in Exile. Part I. Gone by the Wind
The article represents a comparative analysis of two waves of European cultural transfer to the United States in the first half of the 20th century on the example of the study of German-Jewish and Russian emigration of cinematographers. Russian and German filmmakers, who left in the 20s – 30s, are considered primarily as carriers of two national cultural traditions: the culture of the Silver Age and the Weimar culture.Keywords: Russia; Germany; cinema; emigration; national cultureGerman and Russian Cinema in Exile. Part II. Cultural Transfer to the USA – Strangers in Hollywood
The article represents a comparative analysis of two waves of European cultural transfer to the United States in the 30-40s. XX century on the example of the study of German-Jewish and Russian emigration of cinematographers, in particular, their adaptation in Hollywood to new living conditions and creative activities, as well as their contribution to the development of American cinema.Keywords: Russia; Germany; cinema; emigration; national cultureAlexander I as the savior of Europe. The Conservative Manifesto of Georg Friedrich Parrot (1812–814)
The study is based on comparative analysis of the programmatic work of the German physicist Georg Friedrich Parrot “A Look at the Present and the Near Future”, as a conservative manifesto that marked the beginning of the formation of the new Russian messianism doctrine and the first attempts to broadcast it to the peoples of Europe on the eve of the foreign campaign of the Russian army 1813–1814.Keywords: Alexander I; Napoleon; Patriotic War of 1812; propaganda; national-conservative discourse; German mysticismBetween “Great Fear” and “Great Hope”. Russia in the Perception of the German Elite Before and During the Patriotic War of 1812: National-Patriotic Discourse
On the basis of the analysis of private and journalistic written sources of character, an attempt is made to trace the transformation of the image of Russia in the national-patriotic discourse of Germany during the anti-Napoleonic wars, based on the changes in the attitude to the Russian empire among the most prominent representatives of Prussia’s military, political and intellectual elite who had a great influence on formation of public opinion in the German lands.Keywords: Russia; Germany; Prussia; anti-French coalitions; Alexander I; Napoleon; national liberation movement; Patriotic war of 1812.«The Last Hope of Europe». Russia in German Journalism of the First Quarter of the XIX Century: Literary-Philosophical Discourse
In the first quarter of the 19th century for the first time for all history of interaction between Russia and Europe, Russia’s positive perception began to acquire a mass character in Germany regardless of political preferences of most of Germans. On the basis of the analysis of German artistic and philosophical writings on Russia, an attempt is made to trace how during a period of the sharpest political crisis the process of transformation of the image of Russia in German public opinion from the «Russian threat» complex to the «last hope of Europe» began, laying down trends that were still relevant in subsequent years.Keywords: Image of Russia; Germany; French censorship; literary and philosophical discourse; future of Europe; national liberation movement.Refuge from Fears and Projection of Hopes. Image of Russia as an element of the conservative «style of thinking» in Germany in the second quarter of the XIX century
Based on analysis of German conservative literature about Russia, as part of the political discussions in Germany in the second quarter of the 19th century, the paper discusses these polemic works as an example of a conservative "thinking style" that shaped the worldview of its bearers and attitudes towards Russia.Keywords: Image of Russia; Germany; political literature; conservative «style of thinking»; liberal Russophobia; stereotypes; revolution“Barbarian at the Gates” or “the Guarantor of the European Security”: Russia in the German Foreign Policy Discourse on the Eve of the Crimean War
The German foreign policy discourse of the first half of the XIX century indicates an exaggerated attention of the German audience to Russia, and inadequate compared to actual impact of the latter on the domestic and foreign policy in the German lands during the revolutionary unrest in 1848 and on the eve of the Crimean War. The main reason for such an inconvenience is the fact that the image of Russia in the German political literature of that period had initially been constructed as a tool to manipulate of public opinion in the political rivalry in Germany. It was demanded not only by conservatives in power, but also by the liberal opposition for self-consolidation and reinforcement of own ideology and self-perception.Keywords: Germany; Russia; political literature; conservatives; liberals; Crimean War; “Barbarians at the Gate”; European security.Capital as representation of the empire and the myth “about the self-reformer”»
Analyzing German literature of the thirties–forties of the 19th century, the author examines the process of formation of "Petersburg" narrative in the context of conservative discourse on Russia as an ambivalent construct based on personal impressions of eyewitnesses, on the one hand, and on political myths and ideologies on the other.Keywords: Russia; Germany; St. Petersburg; emperor; myth; liberals; conservators.