Russia and Russians in the Legacy of Johann Gottfried Herder

This article analyzes the image of Russia and Russian people in the work of the German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder (1744—1803). Despite the fact that his stay in Riga, Russia’s Baltic province, played a decisive role in the life and work of the German philosopher, this dynamic topic has received virtually no focused research in historiography. However, a considerable number of works exist on the influence of Herder’s ideas on the Russian intelligentsia of the first half of the 19th century. The aim of this article is to analyze the image of Russia that developed in Herder throughout his life. The author attempts to locate and identify works that mention Russia and Russians, analyze them, identify the factors and sources that influenced Herder’s views, and also to establish the place of the “Herderian image” of Russia within the scholars overall work. The author’s analysis concludes that Herders attention to Russia began in his early youth, when he wrote his debut work, “The Song of Cyrus”, dedicated to Peter III. Arriving in Riga after graduating from Königsberg University, Herder became quite familiar with the Russian language, which speaks to the city’s Baltic character. In his ceremonial speeches of the time, Herder praised Peter I and Catherine II. However, while he did indeed hold quite high regard for Peter I, his attitude toward Catherine II was quite severe. This can be seen both in his letters, where he offers a rather skeptical assessment of the Empress’s “Instruction”, and in “Journal of My Travels in the Year 1769”, where he offers a critical assessment of Catherine IIs reformist activities, drawing on Montesquito’s ideas, which Catherine II herself championed in the foundation of her “Instruction”. While studying folklore across various nations, Herder encountered difficulties in finding and accessing Russian folklore, leading to the absence of Russian folk songs in his collections on the subject. In his historical and philosophical treatise, “Ideas on the Philosophy of the History of Mankind”, Russia and Russians are mentioned in the chapter “Slavian nations”. Following Schlözer in many ways, Herder adhered to the Norman theory. Despite this, Herder believed in the great future of the Slavic peoples. Herder planned to devote several chapters to Russia in the final fifth part of “Ideas”, but these chapters were never realized. Herder returned to the theme of Russia for the last time in “Adrasteia”, where he again extols the figure of Peter I and compares him to the Swedish king Charles XII.