“The Power of our Century”: The All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition of 1896 in the perception of travelers

The relevance of the topic is due to the growing interest in the genre of travelogue, which is associated with the problems of national identity and national myth, reflected in the images of the national cultural landscape, as well as the importance of studying regional images in their relation to the all-Russian history and culture. The scientific novelty of the article is connected with the study of the travelogue genre, which presents the formation of the image of Nizhny Novgorod. The collective trips begin in 1817, when the fair was moved here. Therefore, during the XIX century, a certain reputation of the city as a “pocket of Russia” was formed. The scientific novelty of this study is determined by the study of the features of the presentation of the All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition of 1896 in the literature of travel, as an independent and significant literary phenomenon that clarifies the image of the city. The travelogues of D. I. Mendeleev, N. G. Garin-Mikhailovsky, K. A. Korovin, F. I. Chaliapin, Emperor Nicholas II, Joseph de Bay, L. V. Kolotilov are introduced into scientific circulation. In travelogues, travelers highlight “the triumph of Russian genius”, “the power of our century”, considering Nizhny Novgorod not an accidental “hero of the days”. The obvious signs of the image of the city are its historical role in the fate of the Fatherland, its unique geographical location, the specifics of cultural life, etc. It is shown that the image of the Exhibition in travel notes, essays, diaries, memoirs is presented through the synthesis of documentary and fiction principles, fragmentary and retrospective, through a high degree of narrative reflection of the author and the use of the traditional pilgrimage element. The results of a comparative analysis of the works of authors who created their own interpretation and demonstrated their vision of the All-Russian exhibition, which became a kind of personification of Russia’s achievements at the end of the XIX century, are presented. The theoretical significance of the article is determined by the fact that the concept of “local text” is used in the course of the study; new material is introduced into scientific circulation; the description of the image of Nizhny Novgorod and the All-Russian exhibition in travelogues determines its significance in the formation of the image of the Motherland.

All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition, Nizhny Novgorod, travelogue, travelers, Fatherland, image