Introduction: What is Russian orientalism? -- The forest and the steppe -- The Petrine dawn -- Catherinian chinoiserie -- The oriental muse -- The Kazan school -- Missionary orientology -- The rise of the St. Petersburg school -- The oriental faculty -- The exotic self -- Conclusion: Asia in the Russian mind
Summary
Here, the author examines Russian thinking about the Orient before the Revolution of 1917. He argues that the Russian Empire's bi-continental geography and the complicated nature of its encounter with Asia have all resulted in a variegated understanding of the East among its people
