Russian versus French in the Education of the Russian Nobility in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century

• In Event: Language and Power in Nineteenth-Century Russia

Abstract

During the French revolution and the Napoleonic wars, French progressively became a target of criticism in Russian society (Shishkov, Rostopchin, Glinka etc.). My paper uses documents relating to public educational institutions and several noble families to examine how the learning of languages by the Russian nobility was affected. I discuss how these changes reflect the development of national consciousness in Russian society.

Author

• Vladislav Rjeoutski, German Historical Institute in Moscow (Russia)