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Until the mid-nineteenth century, the Amur region had been a virtual terra incognita for the Russian public. However, the region's annexation succeeded in stirring the dreams of the country's most outstanding social and political visionaries, who declared it "civilization's most important step forward." A decade later, this enthrallment and optimism had evaporated. Mark Bassin examines Russia's perceptions of the new territories, placing the Amur enigma in the context of Russian Zeitgeist mid-century, and offers a new perspective on the relationship among Russian nationalism, geographical identity and imperial expansion.
Sommario
Foreword Nicholas V. Riasanovsky; Acknowledgements; Introduction; Map of the Russian Far East (c.1860); Part I: 1. Early visions and divinations; 2. National identity and world mission; 3. The rediscovery of the Amur; 4. The push to the Pacific; Part II: Introduction; 5. Dreams of a Siberian Mississippi; 6. Civilizing a savage realm; 7. Poised on the Manchurian frontier; 8. The Amur and its discontents; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.
Info autore
Mark Bassin is Baltic Sea Professor of the History of Ideas, in the Center for Baltic and East European Studies at Södertörn University in Stockholm.
Riassunto
Written from the perspective of both historical geography and intellectual history, Imperial Visions demonstrates the fundamental importance of geographical imagination in the mentalité of imperial Russia. This 1999 work offers a truly novel perspective on the complex and ambivalent ideological relationship between Russian nationalism, geographical identity, and imperial expansion.
