Russia in The European Context, 1789–1914: A Member of the Family ed. by Susan P. McCaffray, Michael Melancon (review)

464 Рецензии/Reviews signed eighteenth-century document represents a contemporary figurative description of eighteenth-century Russia as “a Giant, imposing in the distance by enormity of its mass, but in proximity rather shapeless by report of its dimensions.” Throughout the eighteenth century, the Colosse déformé was in the process of a gradual rise to power. But no matter how powerful the country became through the “hewing” of the “civilizing ” process, for the majority of the outside observers the Giant remained a rude, barbarous, and outlandish creation. Many spears were broken in attempts to prove either that Russia was indeed a country of European rank (whatever this means), or that in every respect it could not stand equal to major European players. The question of how to perceive Russia is still high on the agenda of many Western and Russian intellectuals . They have been wrestling with the attempts to fit Russia into the universal pattern of progressive history, which has been transforming from a “primitive” to an “advanced” society since the eighteenth century, широкой читательской аудитории. Многие затронутые в его моногра- фии вопросы, связанные с русской идентичностью, еще ждут своего решения со стороны историков, культурологов и социологов. Natalie BAYER Susan P. McCaffray, Michael Melancon (Eds.), Russia in The European Context, 1789–1914: A Member of the Family (New York and Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan , 2005). 256 pp. Index. ISBN: 1-4039-6855-1. The private papers of Marie-Daniel Bourree, Chevalier de Corberon, secretary to the French minister at St. Petersburg during 1775–1777, chargé d’affaires in 1777–1780, and author of the diaries Journal Intime,1 contain a document entitled “La Russie.”2 The undated and un1 Marie Daniel Bourrée de Corberon. Un diplomat français á la cour de Catherine II, 1775–1780: Journal intime du Chevalier de Corberon. Paris, 1901; Journal (Paris-St. Pétersbourg – Paris: 1775–1781) / Édition électronique, texte produit et réalisé par Pierre-Yves Beaurepaire et Dominique Taurisson, édité par Éric-Olivier Lochard selon la méthodologieArcane. See http://melior.univ-montp3.fr/eol/egoDoc/Corberon/PageAccueil .htm. Last time consulted February 1, 2006. 2 Bibliotheque Municipale, Avignon. Collection no. 3060 (Recuiel de Corberon). f. 122. Published in: A. Lentin. “Corberon, La Russie – un Colosse Déformé” // Study Group on Eighteenth-Century Russia Newsletter. 1991. No. 19. Pp. 39-41. 465 Ab Imperio, 4/2006 the time of Russia’s “Europeanization ” (“Westernization” or “modernization ”) from above. At first the Russian elite, following Catherine the Great,3 decisively proclaimed that Russia was indeed European. Later, when Slavophilism flourished, they were not so sure they wanted to belong to Europe. Europeans, for their part, have been struggling with this problem for self-serving reasons. The majority of early travelers’ accounts insisted that Russia was not European, while many eighteenth-century philosophes wholeheartedly embraced the Europeanizing projects of Peter the Great and Catherine the Great. The Napoleonic wars and the era of revolutions returned the image of “backward” Russia to the forefront. It seemed that because socially, economically, and politically Russia developed along lines different from those ofWestern Europe, the country was and still is often viewed as an outsider trying to enter the European mainstream.4 In this process of defining the polarity between Russia and Europe, Europe was understood not as a place but a civilization: an advanced level of material, intellectual , and moral development, and the culmination of mankind’s ascent from the “savage” state.5 In contrast, Russia was designated a place (and time) that was backward, underdeveloped, uneducated, and unenlightened. Russia was hierarchical , authoritarian, and monarchical, with no (or a significantly delayed) transition to secular, liberal, and democratic order. Today, when considered through the lens of the current political, social , and economic situation in Russia and of the formation of European Union, the dispute about Russian “backwardness” (developmental “slowness” or inferiority) produces especially confused and troubling results . In this situation, the editors and the authors of the book Russia in the European Context make a valuable contribution to the discussion by providing an alternative framework for the interpretation of the Russia’s long nineteenth century.6 Their position is summed up in the subtitle. The contributors to the volume try to prove that Russia was definitely a member of a “European family,” at least dur3 Paul Dukes (Ed.). Catherine the Great’s Instruction (Nakaz) to the...