Russian Germans in Russian Historiography from the Last Third of the 18th to the First Half of the 19th Century

Владимир Шайдуров

doi:10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6s4p148

Abstract

Russia and Germany have centuries-old cultural, economic, and dynastic ties. Until the end of the 17th century, the German diaspora in Muscovy was small and concentrated in the German Quarter in Moscow. The reign of Catherine the Great (1762 – 1796) featured an active campaign carried out in Russia to engage foreign colonists in the economic development of vacant lands on the outskirts of the state. In Russia, the colonist districts emerged in the Volga region and New Russia, which were home to dozens of thousands of Germans in the early 19th century. The Russian and German historical science still shows a strong interest in the history of Russian Germans. Many papers have been focused on the key events in the 20th century. At the same time, modern historiography studying German colonies in Russia in the first half of the 19th century is very scanty. Most German and Russian historians do not even mention publications completed in the pre-reform period (until the 1860s) in their works. This article is intended to review the publications about the German colonies in the Russian Empire, which were produced in Russia in the late 18th and early 19th century. We have employed a variety of historical research methods, such as retrospective, genetic, comparative, descriptive approaches, etc. This article is based on the material published in the Russian language in Russia in the late 18th and early 19th century. By their nature, these are travel essays, monographs, and journal articles. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6s4p148

Highlights

Ancient Rus established contacts with foreigners in the 11th century
In the first years of foreign colonization (1763 – 1767), Russia became the destination for approx. 22 thousand Germans from the German principalities, who constituted a key component of the German diaspora in the Russian Empire in the second half of the 18th and early 20th century
The liberal paternalistic approach to Russian Germans adopted by Russian rulers in the late 18th and early 19th century was an essential element in the multi-ethnic policies which replaced the Russian ethnocentrism

Summary

Introduction

Ancient Rus established contacts with foreigners in the 11th century. Those of them who could not speak Russian were called “nemtzy” (Germans) from the Russian word "nemoy" The popular mind referred all foreigners as Germans in subsequent centuries. This explains why the location, where, according to the decree by Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, all foreigners were required to reside, regardless of country of origin, was named Nevetzkaya Sloboda, i.e. German Quarter. The massive inflow of immigrants from the German principalities was registered in the Russian service in the early 18th century, when many Germans made careers in the army, civil service, science, after they were conferred Russian titles of nobility. In the first years of foreign colonization (1763 – 1767), Russia became the destination for approx. 22 thousand Germans from the German principalities, who constituted a key component of the German diaspora in the Russian Empire in the second half of the 18th and early 20th century

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion