“THE RUSSIAN QUESTION”: FRENCH RUSSOPHOBIA IN THE XIX CENTURY (II)

Aim. To show the historical formation of the negative image of Russia and Russians in France of the XIX century on the examples of the works of C.-L. Lesur, J.B. May, F. Lacroix, G. de Beaumont, A. Martin et al.

Methodology. In addition to the general scientific methodological apparatus, the main research methods were content analysis and political-textual analysis.

Results. Based on the study of literary, historical and journalistic works created in France in the XIX century, it was shown how the formation and fixation of negative perceptions of Russia and Russian people, largely due to political reasons, took place in public opinion. Periods of political and cultural cooperation were replaced by periods of aggravation of the struggle for national interests, which led to the actualization of anti-Russian discourse in Europe. Despite the fact that we are talking about the XIX century in our discussion of “Russian question”, arguments such as “savagery”, “barbarism” and “underdevelopment” of the Russian people were often used. Politically and opportunistically motivated works aimed at diminishing the image of Russia and Russians formed an unambiguous image of the Russian “threat” in the mass consciousness. The negative perception of everything connected with Russia was based on two feelings which were consistently being evoked in the French society in accordance with the logic of political and economic confrontation – fear and contempt. Caused by pragmatic political reasons, the consolidation in European public opinion of the image of a “barbaric” and despotic Russia inhabited by wild “slaves”, resulted in the emergence of the phenomenon of Russophobia.

Research implications. Analysis of the ideological foundations of the negative image of Russia and Russians in the works of French authors of the XIX century allows us to identify, firstly, the relationship between the emergence and development of stereotypes and cliches in the assessment of Russia and the Russian people with the historical and political context of their formation, and, secondly, to trace the general line and logic of the development of anti-Russian discourse in Western Europe. New material has been generalized on the topic under study, works of French authors of the XIX century that had not been translated into Russian before have been introduced into scientific circulation.

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