Russian Orientalism: Asia in the Russian Mind from Peter the Great to the Emigration

by David Schimmelpenninck van der Oye

The West has been accused of seeing the East in a hostile and deprecatory light, as the legacy of nineteenth-century European imperialism. In this highly original and controversial book, David Schimmelpenninck van der Oye examines Russian thinking about the Orient before the Revolution of 1917. Exploring the writings, poetry, and art of representative individuals including Catherine the Great, Alexander Pushkin, Alexander Borodin, and leading orientologists, Schimmelpenninck argues that the Russian Empire’s bi-continental geography, its ambivalent relationship with the rest of Europe, and the complicated nature of its encounter with Asia have all resulted in a variegated and often surprisingly sympathetic understanding of the East among its people.

Genres: History, Russia, Russian History, Nonfiction

311 pages, Hardcover

First published September 12, 2008

About the author

Education: Yale University

B.A. (Russian and East European studies; cum laude), 1988
M.Phil. (History), 1994
Ph.D. (Russian history), 1997

Reviews

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

A response to Said that takes Orientalism and moves it into imperial Russia, looking at Asia. The author successfully shows that imperial Russia began positioning itself vis a vis Asia once Russia began its westernization project under Peter the Great. Most significantly, the author sees an increasing turn toward Asia--as a soulmate (19th century) with a compatible affinity for autocracy and faith, as a potential colony (late 19th/early 20th century), and as a market (20th century). This final thought is of most interest, showing that Russia's orientalism is not something merely of the imperial period. Downsides: With that kind of final thought, the book is asking for more consideration of the Soviet period, which is outside of the author's main focus.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good introductory book, but fairly broad and superficial. Dedicates a lot more time to a historiography of востоковедение in Russia than I think was necessary.

[Ioannis Navera · Rating 4 out of 5]

the East of Xerxes or the East of Christ? asked Vladimir Soloviev. fascinating read on Russian views of the Orient as both self and other.

[Kelsey Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literally wrote a 7 page review for a class about this book. Hit me up if interested.

[GreyAtlas · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent niche topic, easily explained, wished there were pictures but overall good gateway read

[Lorna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being part-Russian, I've always found something very special in Russian music, and in particular those Russian pieces that derive from the East: In the Steppes of Central Asia, The Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor, The Golden Cockerel, and so on. And in 2012 I managed the trip of a lifetime to visit Tashkent, Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand - places of astonishing beauty and fascination.

That's a bit of a sideways approach to this book, which doesn't mention Russian music until about page 190/240, and contains very little detail about Central Asia, but nonetheless it's a really interesting read - though its main argument is more about the history of Russian study of the Orient through the establishment of university departments, missionary colleges and academic institutes. It is quite extraordinary, for example, that in the 1820s, undergraduates in Russia studying Arabic or Mongolian were receiving lessons from German academics, delivered in Latin.

The book is a fascinating study of the changes and contradictions of Russia's view of the East. Is Russia a western state, an oriental state, or a hybrid of the two? Is the East a place of deep wisdom and orderliness in contrast to western decadence, or a place of rough primitivism in contrast to western civilisation? What is the East anyway - Tartars, Mongols, Arabs, or the various other peoples with which Russia has become entangled during its history? And what is the purpose of studying them - to learn from them, dominate them, convert them, or simply administer them better?

The book's cover picture, At Tamerlane's Doors, is by Vasily Vereshchagin, and to me one of the most interesting sections of the book was the account of his visits to Uzbekistan in the 1870s and the artistic representations he made of them. A quick image search on Google reveals more wonderful artworks by Vereshchagin of this fascinating part of the world.

I could have done with a little less of the academicians and a little more analysis of the cultural relationship of Russia with the Orient, but nonetheless this was a very interesting read.

[Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent overview of the subject, but seems to have some gaps - or maybe I just wanted this book to be something that it was never meant to be.

I particularly missed more engagement with Russian activities in the Middle East - the missionary societies, etc.

[Vafa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting reading and to discover Mirza Alexander Kazem Bek one of the first Russian orientalist who was actually Persian and his historical work on Babism