Pyotr Kireyevsky’s European letters in a literary-epistolary context

Abstract

During his visit to Germany in 1829–1830, Pyotr Kireyevsky wrote lengthy accounts to his family back in Russia, detailing the conspicuous qualities of European lifestyle as well as his personal attitude to, and experience of, such mode of living. His letters supply the readers with a guide for a virtual tour of Europe. In many ways, Kireyevsky’s letters invoke the influential pretext of Russian travelogues: N. Karamzin’s Letters of a Russian Traveller [Pisma russkogo puteshestvennika]. However, Kireyevsky does not target a large audience, nor does he try to educate his readers or preach Europeism. His older brother Ivan, who followed Pyotr to Europe, would keep his letters to the family brief and rather unsystematic, choosing to focus on his personal judgements and impressions. It seems that, without Pyotr’s letters, it would be nearly impossible to make sense of those epistles or get a good idea of Ivan’s life abroad. Meanwhile, it was Pyotr’s letters that displeased his loved ones. Apparently, the family considered them too good, too ‘correct,’ and, therefore, ‘impersonal.’ They felt that Pyotr’s character was missing from them, which hindered an open and sincere dialogue.