2016 Vol. 7 №4

In his “Letters of a Russian Traveller” Karamzin left a detailed account of his visit to I. Kant in Königsberg on June 18, 1789. Published in 1791, his report is important as the first printed mentioning of Kant in Russian. Karamzin was looking forward to meet J. K. Lavater in Zürich, with whom he had already corresponded for three years, but Kant warned him of Lavater’s excessive imagination, which let him believe in dreams and magnetism. Lavater’s ‘Schwärmerei’ was above all attacked by the publishers F. Nicolai and J. E. Biester, whom Karamzin would soon come in touch with in Berlin. The young traveler was appalled by the caustic tone of the debate among philosophers, who considered themselves enlightened and ought to be tolerant toward dissenters. Aside from contemporary pamphlets, the correspondence between Lavater and Kant (published in 1900) and between Karamzin and Lavater (published in 1893) reveals their mutual respect, but also their profound differences in opinion.

The article reveals the relevance of N. Karamzin’s historical and providential method in the context of philosophical hermeneutics of H.-G. Gadamer. Highlighting a deep connection of the ideological basis of Karamzin’s historiography with the up-to-now-incomplete search for the “Russian idea” the paper shows the suitability of appealing to Karamzin’s historiographical methodology against the backdrop of still controversial dynamics of Russian history, with its typical duality, dual beliefs, and vagueness regarding its place in the world.

The article dwells on the long-established popular version of the "Byzantine" origin of the Russian state emblem: the image of the double-headed eagle is allegedly associated with the marriage of the Great Prince of Moscow Ivan III and Sophia Palaeologus, successor to the Roman and Byzantine Empires. N. Karamzin’s role in promoting and substantiating this version is considered, alongside discussing the longevity of this hypothesis and a critical attitude to it from the point of view of contemporary historiography.

Writing his History of the Russian State N. M. Karamzin used the Russian chronicles, embassy documents, and diplomatic correspondence. He was among the first historians to turn to foreign sources, and to that end had to obtain copies of the documents shedding light on the relations between the Moscow State and the Teutonic Order in the first quarter of the 16th century. In the following years and up to the present time, however, both Russian and German researchers have been paying little attention to the analytical aspect of the Russian historiographer’s work. The article deals with the the attitude to Karamzin’s research activity, accentuating the significance of his work for assessing the events of 500 years ago and of today.

The article is sourced from the first 48 issues of The Messenger of Europe founded by N. M. Karamzin who was the publisher, editor and author of most articles of this literary and political journal in 1802—1803. The paper presents a systematised survey of the publications on the most important developments in England’s foreign and domestic policy. Special attention is paid to the articles in the Messenger of Europe concerning various aspects of Britan’s struggle against Napoleonic France. Those articles help to understand what N. Karamzin deemed worthwhile to inform the readers about.

The article attempts to characterize the sources N. Karamzin used for his major historical work The History of Russian State in the framework of Russian archaeography, its development and achievements in the late 18th — early 19th centuries. The most important of the new sources N. Karamzin used are investigated, including referencing in footnotes. It is concluded that the History of the Russian State played a considerable role in the popularization of documental heritage of ancient and medieval Russia.

The article is dedicated to Nikolai Karamzin, a historian and a major public figure of imperial Russia. His various achievements make him a figure of lasting significance and continuing interest. The subject of the research is N. M. Karamzin’s views on the matters of public education and of ideological and family upbringing in the late 18th — early 19th-century Russia. Special attention is paid to N. M. Karamzin’s various political essays that addressed the country's educational problems. Another focus is on Karamzin’s The Memoir on Old and New Russia.