Eighteenth-Century Russian Writers through the Eyes of the Parisian Police

Abstract

Since Peter the Great’s visit in 1717, Paris has become an uncontestable symbolic place of cultural pilgrimage to his compatriots. Russian presence in Paris, especially the stays of men of letters, is well documented and was described in numerous travelogues, diaries, correspondence, and memoirs. For a long time, these accounts have remained a nearly unique source of information, quite uncertain and insufficient, creating myths and misunderstanding, leaving in the shadow the everyday life of Russian writers in Paris. This study suggests another perspective that emerges through examination of Parisian police reports. These papers shed new light on literary, social, and political activities of Russian writers in the French capital. Cases of Prince Antiochus Cantemir, Count Andrei Shuvalov, Denis Fonvizin, and Ivan Chemnitzer are presented as the most spectacular examples. The comparative analysis of police reports and the literary texts and personal writings by these four writers shows that French administrative staff, generally well-informed and well-read, had very little knowledge of Russian literary and cultural life. Therefore, travelers which were unfamiliar with the French savoir-vivre looked quite suspicious to them. At the same time, Russian writers used their life in Paris to promote themselves.