The Image of Russia in French Public Opinion, 1811–12

Abstract

The Image of Russia in French Public Opinion, 1811–12 Nikolai Promyslov Translated by Anton Fedyashin (bio) European intellectuals, including philosophers and literary figures, actively debated Russia’s present and future throughout the 18th century. The “Russian mirage” steadily lost appeal for a variety of reasons, including the country’s growing influence in international affairs, increasing involvement in European politics, and the declining popularity of the Enlightenment itself. By the time of the French Revolution, Russia’s negative characteristics as a despotic, uncivilized, and therefore especially dangerous country began to predominate in public opinion.1 Most 18th-century essays about Russia, however, found only a limited audience among the intellectual and political elite of France, while impressions about the Russian Empire among the wider public were vague. This changed during the revolution and Napoleonic era, when the negative image of Russia was widely disseminated among the general [End Page 235] audience by state propaganda and—later—memoirs and remained entrenched for years to come. Several factors contributed to the pervasive influence of Russia’s negative image during the Napoleonic Wars. First, a widening sector of the populace came into contact with printed propaganda, including the bulletins of the Grande Armée that were reprinted in newspapers, as well as pamphlets. The impact of the French press on public opinion during the First Empire increased both because of the growing consumption of dailies and because of the convergence in editorial politics.2 A significant increase in literacy was also an important factor. The state-published Moniteur universel was the major organ of propaganda, and it gained an advantage over other papers by printing information delivered directly to it by government ministries.3 An 1807 circular established that the Moniteur universel would hold a monopoly on all political information, which other publications would have to cull from it. Furthermore, materials printed in the Moniteur universel, especially bulletins issued by the army, were read aloud during Sunday services in every parish and in special public announcements at city halls for the benefit of illiterate Frenchmen.4 Propaganda had occupied the attention of Napoleon since the very beginning of his career, and he owed his popularity as a general under the Directory to the influence of the press.5 Special publications were issued to cover his campaigns in Italy and Egypt, which the Paris press closely followed.6 Napoleon personally dictated and edited the bulletins of the Grande Armée during the Russian campaign. The second factor contributing to the pervasiveness of Russia’s negative image was private correspondence.7 This became an important avenue for [End Page 236] disseminating information about Russia in the early 19th century, when for the first time letters began arriving to France from Russia in vast numbers. Over 300,000 French soldiers and officers were part of the Grande Armée during the 1812 campaign; tens of thousands remained in Russia as prisoners of war (POWs) after the fighting ended, and the overwhelming number wrote letters to family members and friends. The result was that back home they came to be considered highly qualified experts on Russia, and their letters were even more widely disseminated thanks to the tradition of collectively reading aloud, still practiced in France in the early 19th century. If a soldier’s family was illiterate, the letter was often addressed to the local priest (curé), exposing its contents to even more “readers.” Letters were also often shared with family members of fellow soldiers.8 Soldiers’ memoirs were a third factor shaping public opinion about Russia in France, and they remained popular reading material throughout the 19th century. Thanks to the ubiquity of revolutionary and Napoleonic war veterans, who told their tales everywhere, even those who did not read books about Napoleon could hardly avoid exposure to the developing legend about the Russian campaign. Regardless of whether listeners believed these tales, they affected French attitudes toward their past and toward themselves.9 In the words of Jean-Paul Bertaud, veterans became “bards of the Great Nation” (conteurs de la Grande Nation).10 The list of autobiographical writings is long. Authors came from all social classes: marshals, generals, quartermasters, and even the lower ranks. Among the...