ОБЩЕСТВЕННО-ПОЛИТИЧЕСКАЯ ЖИЗНЬ РОССИЙСКОГО ОБЩЕСТВА СЕРЕДИНЫ XIX ВЕКА В ОЦЕНКАХ БРИТАНСКИХ СОВРЕМЕННИКОВ

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to analyze the British socio-cultural perception of Russia and the domestic political life of Russians in the early 1960s of the 19th centuries and to clarify the specifics of the British mentality. The author draws attention to the fact that the Russian and British empires were one of the main actors in the international arena in the 19th century. Much attention is given to the relationship between the two powers that was quite complex. A special attention is paid to the analysis of allied relations during the Napoleonic Wars from the beginning of the 19th century to the 1850s.They were replaced by a confrontation between the two sides within the aggravated Eastern Question, which ended with the Crimean War (1853-1856). As a result, the author draws conclusions that the British have always been interested in Russia, its history, domestic and foreign policy especially after the end of the war and the accession of the new Emperor Alexander II. His reform policy and Russian public attitude to it were the center of British public attention All this were the top stories on the pages of British newspapers which generated anti-Russian sen-timents and image of Russia in the British society.