The French in St. Petersburg: fashion House "A. Brizak" 1855-1917.

Abstract

For the first time in Russian historiography, the article presents a detailed analysis of Rone Brizak's diary and Olga Alexandrovna Kulikova-Romanova's letters with Madame Brizak. The author examines the sources from the point of view of evidence of the life of French subjects in St. Petersburg. The above research is intended to reveal in detail the life line of the historical personality Ron Brizac and to show the view of a foreigner, as a representative of the French diaspora, on the turning events in the history of Russia of the late XIX-early XX centuries. The letters of the Princess are a separate subject of research, in this work they complement the general outline of the narrative. In April 2017, valuable documents were transferred to the Pushkin Museum-apartment. The archive contains 56 letters in French. Many of them are sent on postcards, artistically decorated by the Princess herself. In 2018, the letters were published in Kirov for the first time, but have not yet been commented on. The introduction of a new source into scientific circulation and the interpretation of the diary of Ron Brizac from the point of view of the anthropology of the Frenchman's life in St. Petersburg significantly complement the picture of the socio-political turning point in Russia of the late XIX-early XX centuries. The use of the micro—research methodology — the study of the history of one family in the broad context of the history of the Diaspora - seems to us very promising. The antagonism of the key conclusions -the absence of the phenomenon of "Russification" in the Brizak family and, at the same time, a deep attachment to St. Petersburg, to Russian culture and everyday life, speaks of the multidimensional nature and the need for a comprehensive study of the French presence in St. Petersburg at the turn of the century.