A. F. Voeykov and "Description of the Kalmyk people"

Abstract

The object of the study is the perception of the "inner" traveler of the nomadic people of the Russian Empire on the example of the Kalmyks. The research material is the "Description of the Kalmyk people" by the poet, translator and publisher A. F. Voeikov (1779-1839), which was based on the diaries of a trip to the south of Russia in 1813. In his travel notes, the writer pays special attention to understanding the customs and traditions of the Kalmyks. The study of Voeykov's biography and work revealed the context of the appeal to the history of the Kalmyks. In the context of the rise of national consciousness and the ethnographic boom after the Patriotic War of 1812, literary travel pursues both educational (knowledge of another culture) and ideological goals ("increment" of the province to the empire). Usually harsh and sometimes unscrupulous, Voeykov tries to avoid looking "from above" in the description of Kalmyks. Noting the archaic social structure, ignorance and superstitions of the people under the rule of their secular and spiritual rulers, he draws the Government's attention to the need for further integration of the Kalmyks. The narrative of the "Description" combines the tasks of the traveler and the author-narrator. On the one hand, Voeykov draws on early works on the Kalmyks and actively introduces quotations from ethnographers, scientists and administrators into the text, on the other hand, he tries to make a personal analysis of another culture. To create an image of the "Other", the text uses a number of lexical means, which include the use of evaluative words and expressions ("superstitious Kalmyks"), comparisons ("the Kalmyk way of life resembles primitive human societies", intelligent gernguters /ignorant Kalmyks), metaphors ("peaceful shepherds").