Французская колония в Москве во второй половине XVIII – начале XIX вв.: особенности формирования и историческая судьба

Abstract

The paper aims to analyze such a unique phenomenon of national history and culture as a French colony, established in Moscow of the late 18th c., exerting an outstanding influence on every aspect of the city life. “Russian French”, although repeatedly noted by contemporaries as a fact and feature of the Russian culture, still awaits a body of consistent research. The authors seek to assess specificity of the French community of Moscow focusing on the context of its emergence and covering its time span until 1812. The study pays special attention to the issues of the process of the French diaspora`s formation, its features and main aspects of the “Russian French” role in developing of the Russian culture at the turn of the 19th century, in all complexity of this entity, to identifying of the main motivational directions, social and professional status of migrants, mutual estimations of two cultures` representatives, their adjustment during the period observed subject to internal and external factors. The study involves estimating the contribution of the French migrants into Moscow`s business life and education, including the aspect of the theater evolution. The paper introduces into scholarly discourse previously unpublished sources and academic papers of the Russian and foreign authors of the past few years.