Sulaberidze Yuri S.,
PhD, Caucasus Institute of the Jvane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The Perception of the Caucasus by the Decembrists: the Cultural Type of the Decembrist in the Caucasus
DOI: 10.31518/2618-9100-2020-6-3
The author of the article analyzed the problem of the perception of the Caucasus, its nature, landscape, history, culture, mentality, customs and traditions. A certain cultural type of decembrists is distinguished by their tolerance towards ethnic groups of the Caucasus, understanding of the features of their lifestyle. The behavioral model of the Decembrists, who were active participants in hostilities in the Caucasus, is characterized. In connection with the comparative characteristics of the behavior of the Decembrists and the highlanders, the attitude of the Decembrists to the Caucasus is analyzed, revealing the inner nature of the Decembrists itself, as a Russian phenomenon. This discourse reveals an opportunity to identify the “cultural core” of Decembrism, to look at it from the side of “another culture”, at the junction of the interaction of various cultures and civilizations. The article reveals the perception of the Caucasus by the decembrists E.E. Lachinov, A.S. Gangeblov, A.E. Rosen, N.I. Laurer, A.P. Belyaev, whom the author refers to as the “cultural type of the Decembrists”. By fate, they were in the Caucasus at the center of the most important events of the 1820–1840-s. The Caucasus war made adjustments to the worldview of the decembrists about the “civilized mission” of the impire in the Caucasus, changed their attitude towards the Caucasian cultural world, and revealed its self-sufficiency. Caucasus, as a special socio-cultural phenomenon, made a strong impact on the progressive representatives of Russian society, opened for them a new field of activity aimed at the development of Russia.
Publishing: 31/12/2020
The article has been received by the editor on 16.03.2020
How to cite: Sulaberidze Yu.S. The Perception of the Caucasus by the Decembrists: the Cultural Type of the Decembrist in the Caucasus // Historical Courier, 2020, No. 6 (14), pp. 53–71. [Available online:] http://istkurier.ru/data/2020/ISTKURIER-2020-6-03.pdf
Links: Issue 6 2020
Keywords: the Decembrists; Caucasus; E.E. Lachinov; A.S. Gangeblov; A.E. Rosen; A.P. Belyaev