“In the Interests of Our Subjects and Our Dignity”: Maintaining the Status of a “Russian Name” in Persia in the Interpretations of Russian Contemporaries (1830s — 1910s)

Abstract

The article discusses the evolution of the use of such concepts as “Russian name”, “Russian prestige”, “charm of the Russian name”, “dignity of Russia”, etc. by Russian authors in the period between the signing of the Turkmenchay Treaty and the First World War. It is shown that, despite the preservation of the basic meaning of the categories under consideration, associated with the need to maintain the “prestige” of Russia, the high status of the “Russian name” that arose earlier, during the “long 19th century”, the contexts of the use of these phrases significantly expanded, both as to the potential “threats” to the status of the “Russian name”, and as to the possible means of maintaining the “dignity” of Russia. This was due to the deepening of ties with Iran, the expansion of the spheres of interaction between neighboring countries in various fields.