Visualizing Russia in Early Modern Europe

In early modern Europe, print culture shaped and disseminated knowledge about Russia through visual means. Using case studies of specific images of Russians in a wide range of publications, Nancy Kollmann explores this vibrant world, tracking how these images were produced, copied and plagiarized across genres, countries and publishers.

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In early modern Europe, the emergence and development of print culture proved a powerful new method for producing and disseminating knowledge of Russia through visual means. By examining the images of Russia found in travel accounts, pamphlets, maps and costume books, this study demonstrates how the visual shaped a dual understanding of these lands: Russia and Russians were portrayed as familiar, but the steppe and forest frontiers were seen as forbidding and exotic. As these images were reproduced and plagiarized in new formats, so too were their meanings – the idea of Russia was one which constantly shifted across genres, usages, and audiences. Nancy Kollmann examines the techniques harnessed by artists and publishers to suggest the authenticity of their publications, and explores in turn how these complex depictions of Russia contributed to Europeans' understanding of themselves.