“Mental map” in “Letters of a Russian Traveler” by Nikolay Karamzin and the problem of the national myth representation

Abstract

The article analyzes “Letters of a Russian Traveler” by Nikolay Karamzin in terms of the symbolic-mythological perception of space, suggesting a view of the countries, depicted in the travelogue, as symbolic-mythological units of the “mental map” in the book. A “mental map” is understood as a holistic image of a geographical space, value-restructured in accordance with the author’s vision of European cultural and the historical situation. The purpose of the work is to reveal the hidden additional plot of Karamzin’s book, which determines the logic of the perception of geographical space and its comprehension, taking into account the historical and political situation witnessed by Karamzin’s hero-traveler. Using the methodology of the structural-semiotic, historical-genetic and comparative-typological reading of the text, as well as the methodology of human geography, the article shows how Karamzin generalizes ideas about the logic of the Western European history and culture development at the end of the 18th century. We also characterize the writer’s symbolic and mythological view of the cultural dialogue between Russia and Europe, the place and role of the “Letters...” of France, Switzerland, England and the countries of the German world on the “mental map”. Conclusions are drawn about the significance of the spatial image of “Letters...” for the design of Karamzin’s historical and political concept of the late 18th century, in which the key role was played by the ideas of the dialogue, the ability to evaluate the achievements of European culture and to develop the potential of Russian culture.