Table of contents:
- When Russia turned to face the West
- How the French wave covered the Russian aristocracy
- How yesterday's Parisians became teachers for the children of Russian landowners
- Why the popularity of the French language in Russia has declined
Video: Why French became native to the Russian elite: Gallomania in Russia in the 18th-19th centuries
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
At all times, the great masters of the word composed odes to the Russian language, calling it truly magical, admiring the wealth, expressiveness, accuracy, liveliness, poetry, the ability to convey the subtlest nuances of feelings. And the more you enumerate these advantages, the more paradoxical the fact is that there was a period when many of our compatriots declared their native language common and vulgar and preferred to communicate and even think in French. Even the famous phrase of Kutuzov at the council in Fili: “With the loss of Moscow, Russia is not lost yet” - was said in French.
When Russia turned to face the West
From the very first years of his one-man rule, the reformer Tsar Peter I directed his foreign policy towards the Europeanization of Russia. The autocrat was especially interested in France, which by that time had become the most powerful and influential state on the continent. First of all, Pyotr Alekseevich wanted to see this power as an ally in the fight against the Swedes. But he was no less interested in the science and culture of the French.
During his visit to France, inquisitive Peter got acquainted with the achievements in the field of engineering, urban planning, construction of fortifications; visited industrial and educational institutions, the Royal Library. He brought masters of many specialties from abroad and treasured them very much. In the era of Peter the Great, the Russian-French cultural connection was just emerging, and after the death of the emperor, French influence in Russia practically disappeared. The reigning Anna Ioannovna, and then the regent Anna Leopoldovna, gave the country into the hands of the Germans (which is understandable, because both of them had favorites with German roots). The Germans dominated both government and cultural trends.
The situation changed dramatically after the accession to the throne of Elizabeth Petrovna. The time of her reign marked the beginning of a universal admiration for all French - the so-called Gallomania. And this phenomenon flourished especially brightly in Russia during the reign of Catherine II.
How the French wave covered the Russian aristocracy
The youngest daughter of Peter the Great, Empress Elizabeth, brought up in the French spirit, carried her love for this country and its traditions throughout her life. During her reign, she paid increased attention to French culture. During the Elizabethan era, the vast majority of foreigners living in St. Petersburg were French. Their lifestyle and manners became the subject of imitation for the Russian nobility. French dwelling interiors, clothes, kitchens have become fashionable; popularized French music, literature and theater; French began to predominate in communication, which very soon became the language of the imperial court.
Catherine II, who took the Russian throne, also received an education with a French bias. She in every possible way strengthened her reputation as an enlightened empress. Realizing the authority of the prominent figures of the European Enlightenment, the Empress maintained personal contacts with them: she invited them to visit Russia, acquired their literary works, and even had a friendly correspondence with the great Voltaire. So, through her efforts, French became the language not only of communication of the aristocracy, but also of the diplomatic service.
How yesterday's Parisians became teachers for the children of Russian landowners
Under Elizaveta Petrovna, in connection with the need to know the French language, a tradition arose to employ immigrants from France as governors, educators and teachers. Among the huge number of those who arrived in Russia were many adventurers, often outright outcasts of society. Footmen, coachmen, cooks hid their origins and real profession and presented themselves as experienced governors. And the Mamsell, recruited into the service in her past Parisian life, could well have turned out to be a seamstress or even a girl of easy virtue. In order to weed out the impostors, the government obliged foreigners who wished to teach to be examined at the Academy of Sciences. But since a certified teacher demanded a higher salary, landlord families did not pay attention to the lack of necessary documents and preferred to take the candidate for educators at his word.
As you know, one of the consequences of any revolution is the massive emigration of conservative-minded people. France was no exception, and as a result of the Great French Revolution, more than 15 thousand opponents of the new regime, who found refuge in Russia, joined the ranks of applicants for the posts of governesses and governors of the children of Russian nobles and landowners. High society received yesterday's Parisians with cordiality, considering them not only bearers of culture, but also adherents of the monarchical order. After the defeat of Napoleon, many of the French prisoners joined the cohort of educators and teachers, of whom about 190 thousand remained in Russia.
Why the popularity of the French language in Russia has declined
The Russian-French wars, especially the Patriotic War of 1812, became a serious impetus to the weakening of Gallomania. Most of the representatives of aristocratic circles began to abandon the French trends. Patriotic minded figures urged fellow citizens, without denying the value of European culture, to stop blindly following the West and turn to their origins - the history and culture of their native country. Literary circles and periodicals of an emphatically Russian trend arose, which advocated the purity of their native speech. They were supported in every possible way by the government, which realized the importance of patriotic enthusiasm in the current situation.
In the noble environment, Russian utensils stylized as national clothes became fashionable. The language of the invaders was less and less used in colloquial speech. And for the officers in the active army, French posed a certain threat to life: it happened that the partisans, hearing a foreign dialect, attacked the cavalry patrols, mistaking them for the enemy. After the collapse of Napoleon's empire, France began to give up its position as a European leader and the passions around Gallomania in Russia subsided. However, for a very long time, until the 1917 revolution, high society bowed to Parisian fashions and considered knowledge of the French language a must.
But the French descended from once the Gauls who redrawn the map of Europe.
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