Senior Lecturer, Department of Chinese Philology, Institute of Asian and African Studies
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The First Posthumous English-Language Biography of Alexander III: Problems of Source AnalysisMoscow University Bulletin. Series 8: History 2021. N 5. p.25-38read more1602
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About two months after the death of Alexander III the first posthumous biography of the Russian emperor was published, first in New York and then in London. Its author was the British journalist Charles Lowe. He did not know the Russian language and was not deeply informed about Russian domestic and foreign policy. This raises the question of the sources used by Lowе. Finding an answer to this question is complicated by the fact that this biography was not an academic study, but a historical and journalistic essay about the recently deceased monarch, so it was extremely incomplete in citing its sources. Hence, the analysis of the range of the biographer’s sources makes it possible to answer the question of which and whose perceptions infl uenced the formation of the commemoration practices of the era and the image of Alexander III in European public opinion. The sources of Lowe’s book are classified in the article into four groups: monographic studies, articles from periodicals, newspaper material, and quotations, which are subdivided into statements made without reference to sources and fragments of official documents (either public or not). After this initial classification, the author examines the distribution of sources according to the specific issues of Lowe’s interest to the biography and personality of Alexander III. Since such issues vary in their impact on the Lowe’s paradigm of commemoration, it is possible to trace the correlation between the tendentiousness of any source and the extent to which it is engaged by the biographer. The author concludes that Alexander III’s biography by Lowe was most infl uenced by the observations and judgements of the Irish writer and journalist Emile Dillon, who wrote about Russia under the pseudonym E.B. Lanin.
Keywords: Charles Lowe; Emile Dillon; Russian Empire; Emperor Alexander III; commemoration; biography
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Activities of the Society of Zealots of Russian Historical Enlightenment to Popularize Foreign Literature in the Late 19th — Early 20th CenturiesMoscow University Bulletin. Series 8: History 2025. N 6. p.33-43read more106
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At the end of the 19th century, representatives of the Russian aristocracy and high bureaucracy with a conservative political orientation, believing that the policies of the new Emperor Nicholas II were insufficiently aligned with the political ideals of his father and that the meanings and values of the reign of Alexander III should therefore be promoted, created a special organization for this purpose. It was named the Society of Zealots of Russian Historical Enlightenment in Memory of Emperor Alexander III. The society was headed by Count S.D. Sheremetev, a close associate of the late Emperor and who maintained close ties with the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. The activities of the Society of Zealots, in keeping with its name, envisioned broad educational work based on principles opposed to the ideas of liberalism and constitutionalism, which were gaining strength and becoming increasingly popular in society. One of the areas of the Society's work was the publication of special literature, and within this framework, the translation of works by foreign authors whose content corresponded to the organization's ideology, for the purpose of their subsequent publication and distribution. This article examines the formation of a special structure within the Society of Zealots — the Translation Commission. This structure, under the purview of the organization's Publishing Department, was charged with selecting such works, organizing their translation, and publishing. A list of the books that were translated is provided, along with commentary. It highlights the fact that these translations were largely unpublished, and speculates as to why this fate awaited them. Attempts by members of the Society of Zealots to rectify this situation are also noted. Special attention is given to the funding of the translators' work. It is noted that such funding was provided, in part, by the leader of the Society of Zealots, Count S.D. Sheremetev. The final part of the article contains a general conclusion on the activities of the Translation Commission of the Society of Zealots, noting the haphazard nature of the selection of books for translation and their poor alignment with the organization's stated goals.Keywords: Russian conservatism in the late19th an early 20th centuries, Emperor Nicholas II, Count Sergei Dmitrievich Sheremetev, Francis Marion Crawford, Vasiliy L'vovich Velichko.
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