Czech-Russian cultural ties during the transformation of mutual interest in the second half of the 19th century

Tashchian Daniil Andreevich Postgraduate student; Faculty of History, Sociology and International Relations; Kuban State University 350058, Russia, Krasnodar territory, Krasnodar, st. Stavropol, 183/1, sq. 114 tas1998@yandex.ru

Czech-Russian interaction in the 19th century was invariably transformed depending on the changes taking place in the political and socio-cultural spheres. The article examines the ways of cultural and scientific exchange between the Czech Republic and Russia in the second half of the 19th century. In the process of strengthening the Czech national identity.

The purpose of the article is to identify the main patterns of Czech–Russian interaction during the transformation of mutual interest. In particular, special emphasis is placed on the interest in cultural interaction on the part of Russian cultural figures.

In the 1860s, in the light of the entry into force of the Law on the Common Affairs of All Lands of the Austrian Monarchy of December 21, 1867, which recognized the equality of the two parts of the empire - Cisleithania (Austria) and Transleithania (Hungary) ^[9], delegations of Czech representatives (60 members from national seimas) were given the opportunity to participate in the work of government organs ^[7]. As a result, the Czech delegates began to push for greater and greater transformations that helped strengthen the autonomy of Czech culture, even though the Czech people still did not gain political autonomy.

Thus, in 1882, the University of Prague was divided into Czech and German, the order of elections to the Chambers of Commerce and Industry was changed, and so on. Since 1883, Czech deputies have reached a majority in the Zemstvo Sejm. During this period, the Zemstvo Bank was founded, a building was built for the Museum of the Kingdom of the Czech Republic, and the publication of sources of Czech history began with funds provided by the Sejm.

The gradual movement towards political independence was reflected in the perception of the national language and culture by the Czechs themselves. A comparison of sources and scientific works from the first and second half of the 19th century demonstrates a significant difference in the goals and motives of Czech-Russian cultural interaction.

During the initial stage of the struggle for National Revival in Czech society at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as during the years of the active enlightenment movement, Russian culture was perceived by Czech thinkers as a source for the development of the national language, literature and art. Czech scientists and artists saw Russian educators as reliable partners and role models. The experience gained by Russian writers, painters, musicians and scientists was actively perceived by the Czechs. On the basis of cultural exchange in Czech society, the basic principles of cultural and national identity were developed, which were used during the revolutionary events of 1848 and in subsequent years.

In the light of the revolutionary events of the mid-nineteenth century and the political reforms that marked the strengthening of the trend towards the autonomization of Czech culture and the development of social institutions, attitudes towards Russian culture have transformed. The desire to develop equal cooperation with Russian cultural figures began to spread in the Czech enlightened society. In the second half of the 19th century, Czech culture, thanks to the national language, literature, visual and artistic creativity, as well as theatrical art, began to develop without direct borrowing, on an autonomous basis. Consequently, by the end of the 19th century, realistic and often critical perception of Russian culture began to prevail in the Czech Republic. This explained the gradual rejection of the perception of Russian culture as the leading one, and the concept of Slavic reciprocity as the main one. Czech cultural figures by the end of the 19th century. Increasingly, they sought to develop science and the arts in an original way, subject to cultural exchange with other Slavic peoples based on the principles of equal cooperation.

In addition, Russophile sentiments were less characteristic of Czech enlighteners. The view that the Russian Empire is the main source of support for the Czech cultural community began to gradually lose its relevance, especially after the completion of the creative and scientific activities of the leading Czech Slavists. Jungman, F.L. Chelakovsky, V. Ganka, and others. In addition, Russophobic tendencies often began to manifest themselves in Czech society in the light of the Polish uprising that took place in 1863 ^[2]. The change in attitude towards Russia has been reflected in the complication of Czech-Russian scientific contacts.

Russian Russian Slavists began to increase in price for scientific works commissioned from the Czech Republic, and many Russian scientists and cultural figures found it difficult to obtain an audience with Czech scientists and educators when visiting the Czech Republic, and critical reviews began to appear more often for scientific works published by Russian authors ^[4]. Russian Russian literary critic and historian A.L. Duvernois faced a similar attitude after the publication of the book Stanislav Znojemsky and Jan Huss (1870). Criticism of the book from Czech writers clearly indicated that during this period Russian and Czech scientific schools could interact, but only in the field of objective analysis of national the history of each nation, which had distinctive features.

Russian Russian Slavonic studies were developing in the first half of the nineteenth century, and the scientific interest of Russian enlighteners was mainly in the study of philological topics and linguistics, on the contrary, after the beginning of the reforms, in the period between 1860-1870, the tasks of Russian scientific Slavonic studies were redirected to solving issues of social and political reform of society. At the same time, departments of Slavic philology began to open in Russian universities, the number of which was only increasing in the light of the education reform ^[5].

Changes in the assessments of the idea of Slavic reciprocity in Russian society also occurred against the background of the reforms of the 1860s and 1870s in the country. The reforms initiated by Alexander II changed the socio-economic structure of Russia, significantly liberalized attitudes towards censorship, and, as a result, had an impact on interaction with Slavic peoples seeking political independence, including the Czech. In this regard, the largest number of special journals devoted to the topic of Slavic studies in Russia appeared in the 70s of the nineteenth century, among them. "Philological Notes" (Voronezh) and "Russian Philological Bulletin" (Warsaw), collections of articles such as "Slavic Yearbook" (Kiev) ^[3].

The leading role in Russian journalism, which advocated the ideas of Slavic reciprocity, was played by the Slavyanskiye Izvestia magazine, the printing organ of the Slavic Charitable Society. The periodical has been developing and supporting this topic for thirty-three years. The ideological inspiration of the magazine was M. M. Filippov (1858-1903), a Russian scientist and thinker of the late 19th century, who was involved in cooperation as the editor of the magazine. He had the idea of developing a program for the formation of Slavic culture ^[3], according to which Russia should bring closer to the related cultures of the Slavic peoples on the basis of common interests, but not on political and ideological grounds. The journal Slavyanskie Izvestia saw the kinship of cultures in the knowledge of the peculiarities of Slavic languages. In this regard, philology and linguistics have long occupied a significant place in the wide range of topics of the journal.

The level of activity of the periodical press clearly demonstrated the high interest among the Russian public in establishing and maintaining cooperation with Czech cultural institutions. Thus, N.V. Kiselkova notes that by 1875, most Russian readers were familiar with the list of names of Slavic magazines for which subscriptions were accepted in Russian post offices. The distribution of current periodicals in the Czech language was carried out not only by the magazines and newspapers themselves, but also by direct mail ^[2].

The steady exchange of information was supported by individual stakeholders who had authority in the field of diplomatic relations with the Czech Republic. One of them was the archpriest of the Russian Embassy Church in Vienna, M.F. Rayevsky. Thus, his direct merit was the establishment of permanent contacts between the Vienna-based magazine Slavyanskaya Beseda and the Imperial Academy of Sciences, as well as the establishment of the Slavic Charitable Committee in St. Petersburg (1867), which included members of the Czech Matitsa. For example, thanks to the established contacts of M.F. Rayevsky with Czech teachers, including the director of the full gymnasium in Tabor, V. Krzyzek, and the professor of the real higher gymnasium in Tabor, I. Meisner, a stable supply of methodological literature, pedagogical writings (including books by Ya.A. Komensky), and textbooks was established in Russian educational institutions ^[1].

It is impossible not to notice the fact of active correspondence and collaboration between M.F. Rayevsky and one of the famous Czech scientists A. Patera. The materials of their business correspondence have been preserved to the present day. An analysis of the materials of their correspondence shows that as a result of the cooperation, a lot of work has been done to select and search for candidates for vacant positions of teachers of classical languages at Russian universities and gymnasiums. At the same time, the candidates were subject to mandatory selection, which clearly indicated the great interest on the part of young Czech teachers in gaining professional experience in Russia.

On the part of the Czech cultural community, contacts with M.V. Rayevsky and the initiatives carried out on his initiative were supported by the Czech writer and teacher A.J. Vrtyatko (1815-1892). Having served as librarian of the Czech Museum since 1861, A.J. Vrtyatko, having access to valuable literary collections, actively participated in literary exchange with Russia. Among other things, he himself made a significant contribution to the enrichment of Czech literature. For example, his translations into Czech of Aristotle's treatise "Categories" were of particular value. Among other works by A.J. Vrtyatko, the photographic publication in 1862 of the Kraledvorsky manuscript, the articles "Zlomky taborské" and "Hanka a Dobrovsky" ^[11] are particularly well known. Representatives of the Russian academic community also got acquainted with the results of his research and individual writings, as well as other literary works in the Czech language. A.J. Vrtyatko, being a member of the Czech Matic, established contacts with Russian libraries, universities, including the Russian Archaeological Society, the Ministry of National Education of the Russian Empire, the National Museum, the Slavic Charitable Committee, as well as the Imperial Academy of Sciences.

The events described above, including the continuing interest of the Russian cultural community in interacting with the culture of fraternal Slavic peoples, became one of the reasons for the formation of a new school of Slavic studies in Russia. Specializing in the Department of Slavic Studies, young people in the 1860s and 1870s gained knowledge in the field of Slavic and general linguistics, practically studied the language in classes, wrote translations from Slavic languages and performed other tasks. The students of the pioneers of Russian Slavic studies were in completely different conditions. They received language training during their studies. Gymnasiums and home education allowed young people to learn at least two European languages – German and French. In turn, Prague remained the center of attraction for "young" minds. Many scientists, receiving classical university education, sought to visit the capital of the Czech Republic as a symbol of Slavic studies. It is important to note that Slavic researchers who received high-quality preliminary training at Russian universities and were proficient in Czech and many other Slavic languages came to the Czech Republic from Russia.

Russian Slavists had their own, formed point of view on the subject of studying Slavic culture, often from a critical point of view. For example, in order to improve scientific knowledge, N.A. Popov, a historian and professor at Moscow University, was one of the first to travel to the Czech Republic during the period under review. While doing historical research in the Czech Republic and Germany, he held many meetings at universities with scientists and journalists. The undoubted success of N.A. Popov's work in the Czech Republic was facilitated by the proximity of his political views to those of the Czech academic community ^[5].

Also among the outstanding Russian scientists who worked in the Czech Republic during the period under review were Y.S. Annenkov (1849-1885) and N.V. Yastrebov (1869-1923). They shared the principles of scientific research adopted in the Czech Republic and made a significant contribution to the development of culture in both countries. Thus, Y.S. Annenkov visited Prague more than eight times in his entire life, devoting most of his time to work in the archives. A. Patera, assisting him in his research, recalled him as a very erudite young scientist who had gained a large number of both friendly and scientific connections among Czech enlighteners ^[4]. Czech scholars who were his contemporaries, including K. Kroft, recalled the diligence with which Y.S. Annenkov worked with sources and, above all, manuscripts related to the period of the Hussite wars. N.V. Yastrebov's contribution to the development of Czech science was that, thanks to his initiative, many manuscripts dating back to the 15th century were found and collected into a single collection.^[8]

N.V. Yastrebov, one of the few Russian scientists who worked at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries, managed to maintain close cooperation with Czech cultural figures. Among his regular partners were the director of the Prague Archive J. Chelakovsky, Professor of the University of Prague J. Polivka, T.G. Masaryk. The connections established by N.V. Yastrebov were of great importance for the continuation of the Czech-Russian dialogue in new, official and filled with academic formalities. With his assistance, numerous lectures and seminars were held at St. Petersburg University with the participation of invited Czech scientists. In 1906, the works of T.G. Masaryk "Revolution and Evolution", "Marxism and Parliamentarism" were translated into Russian and published ^[5].

The cooperation of Czechs and Russians in this direction eventually yielded results. Thus, since the 90s of the XIX century, the work of the Department of Russian Language and Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ORYAS RAS) has intensified in the field of studying Slavic languages and literatures, publishing Slavic texts, dictionaries. If earlier Slavists in this branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences were represented for a long time by I.I. Sreznevsky, then at the end of the 19th century Slavists V.M. Lamansky, A.N. Pypin, as well as such prominent philologists as A.A. Shakhmatov and A.I. Sobolevsky were elected full members of the ORYAS RAS. ORYAS had its own print media – Izvestia ORYAS and the Collection of ORYAS, which published research on various aspects of Slavic studies, reviews of Slavic literature. However, the ORYAS reached its peak in the early twentieth century, after the Congress of Russian Slavists in 1903.

Nevertheless, even though diplomatic and scientific contacts between Czechs and Russians have become much less intense, such activities indicated the continued need for Russian culture to receive assistance and support from the Czech cultural heritage. On the contrary, Czech culture has shown a similar need in previous periods, but trends have gradually changed. Thus, Czech scientific visits to Russia began to decrease significantly, despite the fact that cooperation with Russian scientists was still active, but in other forms. The goals of Czech visits to Russia in the second half of the 19th century, and especially in the last quarter of the century, were commerce and politics.

Political interest on the part of the Czechs prevailed over scientific interest in the light of their desire for ultimate political autonomy. Much was done in establishing cultural and political contacts after the Ethnographic Exhibition in Moscow in 1867. This event was not only of great benefit for strengthening cultural interaction, but also received a wide political resonance. Many Czech figures used their membership in the exhibition to demonstrate their opposition to the Government of Austria-Hungary. One of them was F. Palatsky and L. Rieger, as well as the editorial office of the newspaper of the Young Czech party "Narodni noviny" ^[6].

It is noteworthy that the closest contacts were maintained between Czech and Russian cultural figures in the field of Slavic linguistics. Among the Czech scientists who most actively cooperated with the Russian academic community were J. Goll, J. Bidlo, J. Polivka, L. Niederle.

It should also be pointed out that there were a large number of Czech migrants in Russia. Most of the Czech migrants were doctors, engineers, and entrepreneurs. Many Czech specialists have worked in Russian cultural institutions. Czechs' interest in professional activity in Russia was dictated by the comfortable living conditions created by government decrees for migrant workers, as well as the high level of pay ^[5]. A particularly pronounced trend was reflected among cultural workers. At the same time, there was family continuity among Czech cultural figures working in Russia. For example, the activities of O.A. Rozhdestvenskaya, the daughter of the Czech professor of linguistics, A.V. Dobias, are well known. Over the years of O.A. Rozhdestvenskaya's teaching work, a large number of professional Latin paleographers have been trained and graduated ^[2].

The increase in the number of Czech scientists and teachers who lived in Russia and taught in educational institutions was dictated by the further deepening and expansion of educational reform measures. Thus, on July 31, 1871, a new Charter of gymnasiums was issued in the Russian Empire, which provided for the preservation of only classical gymnasiums. By reducing other subjects by one and a half times, the program of teaching ancient languages was expanded ^[10].

In the light of the innovations, the number of lessons in ancient languages was significantly increased (by 15 in Latin and 11 in Greek); at the same time, Greek was taught in all gymnasiums and gymnasiums (up to this point – in 36). Moreover, the very number of gymnasiums was growing. Since the accession of Alexander III to the throne, it has increased from 73 to 130. In such conditions, Russia's need for teachers of ancient languages was especially great. Due to the fact that the Czech school of linguistics was sufficiently developed at that time, a large number of specialists in ancient languages arrived in Russia ^[1].

Many Russian and Czech public figures were engaged in the search for suitable candidates for transfer to educational institutions. Among them, the initiatives of M.F. Rayevsky, A. Patera, A. Vrtyatko and others were of particular importance. Due to their efforts, many Czech teachers received not only jobs in Russia, but also decent salaries, scholarships, and temporary housing. Meanwhile, it was often the amount of monetary compensation that did not suit the Czechs. In the 70s of the 19th century, M.F. Rayevsky, as a person who worked closely with the Ministry of Public Education, received requests from A. Patera and A. Vrtyatko about the need to increase wages for Czechs ^[2]. Significant success has been achieved in this area, which is related to the implementation of initiatives to increase the income of Czech teachers by Russian public figures.

Summarizing the above, we can conclude that Czech-Russian cultural ties have significantly transformed after 1870. The changes are reflected in the following aspects:

1. Both Russian and Czech enlightenment thinkers gradually began to move away from the romantic-idealistic perception of the ideas of Slavic reciprocity. Russian and Czech culture were increasingly viewed as related, but very distinctive formations, developing according to their own laws and subject to various factors of influence. In the light of this assessment, Czech-Russian cultural ties were built on the basis of equal cooperation, but on an autonomous basis.

2. There was a high level of interest on the part of Russian scientists in establishing scientific contacts with the Czechs. Thus, many cultural and public figures in Russia, using their numerous contacts and high level of authority in Czech society, actively contributed to the preservation, strengthening and development of ties between the Czech and Russian educated community. In particular, the interest of Russians in Czech culture during the period under review was related to the need to attract qualified philologists, Slavic scholars and teachers to the scientific and educational sphere, which was actively developing as a result of the education reform in Russia.

3. Czechs arriving in Russia were less likely to pursue the goal of establishing scientific cooperation. On the contrary, Czech immigrants increasingly included entrepreneurs, engineers, doctors, and cultural workers who came to Russia to work permanently in cultural and educational institutions. However, scientific contacts persisted, but they developed mainly in the focus of consideration of issues of linguistics and literary studies.

Based on the above, it can be stated that in the second half of the 19th century, Russian culture, unlike Czech culture, began to show the greatest need to maintain mutual contacts.