Russian-Slovak Contacts: From Alexander I until the Last Quarter of the Nineteenth Century

Abstract

The article deals with the most significant cases of Russian-Slovak cultural and scholarly connections in the nineteenth century, starting from the first mentions of inclusion of Slavs into the programs of Decembrists to 1870s when Slovaks came to study at Russian universities. The researchers’ attentions is concentrated mostly on the perception of Slovaks in Russia and their image in the Russian society. First, the researchers identified the basic stages in the development of Russian-Slovak contacts and the ways of collaboration of Russian and Slovak intellectuals. Then they analyzed the political situation that greatly influenced the intensity of the Russian-Slovak contacts in the various stages of the time span from the years of Alexander I rule to the last quarter of the nineteenth century. A prominent place in the article is dedicated to the role of M.F. Raevskii, archpriest of the Orthodox church of the embassy of the Russian empire in Vienna, adherent to the idea of Slavic mutuality. The first complete publication of the Slavic correspondents of M.F. Raevskii was issued in 2014 in Bratislava.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n3s7p149