Agustín de Betancourt in the Dialogue Between the Cultures of Spain and Russia

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2024 marks the 200th anniversary of the death of Agustín de Betancourt (1758–1824), a distinguished Spanish and Russian engineer and scientist. His contribution to the development of engineering in both Spain and Russia is well-known; however, his role as a link between the two countries’ cultures is of particular interest. The research on the «Russian» period of Betancourt’s life began in the 1960s, yet recent discoveries by Russian scholars have revealed new aspects of his legacy in Russia. Although Betancourt’s life and work were closely tied to Saint Petersburg, his engineering projects can also be found in other Russian cities, such as Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod. Betancourt’s great legacy includes the fountain «Girl with a Jug» in Catherine Park in Tsarskoye Selo, the wooden Kamennoostrovsky Bridge, Saint Isaac’s Pontoon Bridge and Saint George’s Church. In addition, Betancourt’s engineering solutions were used in the construction of Saint Isaac’s Cathedral. Agustín de Betancourt’s legacy has to do not only with his material work, but also with his relationships with people who greatly influenced his life and work in Russia, above all with Emperor Alexander I. The memoirs of his contemporaries, such as Ivan Resimont and Filipp Vigel, shed light on Agustín de Betancourt’s career in Saint Petersburg, his personality and his unique role in the history of scientific and cultural relations between Spain and Russia in the early 19th century.