Image of the Jews in the records of Siberian pilgrims as a factor for determining Russian identity

The article analyzes the image of the Jews presented in travel notes of Siberian pilgrims and its influence on the definition of the Russian identity of Orthodox “pilgrims”. The main source was the diaries of Siberian pilgrims at the beginning of the 20th century (Krasnoyarsk, Turin and Irkutsk). The Siberian pilgrims were mainly represented by people from the clergy; their notes were published in local eparchial journals. In the first half of the 19 century Orthodox travelers did not pay attention to Jews in their notes. The pilgrims of the late 19 - early 20 centuries on the contrary began to give them a significant place in the diaries, their interest was caused by the influence of two factors: the growth of anti-Semitic sentiments in the Russian Empire and the spread of Zionism in the world, which stimulated the resettlement process for the return of Jews to Palestine. The Jewish theme occupied a special place in the pilgrim notes, revealing itself both through chance encounters with Palestinian and Russian Jews, as well as reflections on biblical themes. In this regard, the authors of the article answer a number of key questions: what image did Russian travelers reproduce? Did the general anti-Jewish mood in Russia affect them? How did the image of the Jews influence the definition of Russian identity abroad? Did it stay static? Answers to these questions will make it possible to reconstruct the image of Jews and Jewish Palestine as a factor in determining Russian identity. In methodological terms, the authors rely on the approach of “mental maps” and “imaginary territory”. The journey contributed to a more objective perception of “foreign” cultural traditions, with a deeper understanding of “their own” ones. The authors come to the conclusion that the image of a Jew as a “stranger” helped Russian pilgrims to shape his or her own identity. On the way to Palestine and vice versa, Jews were perceived as Gentiles, emphasizing for Orthodox pilgrims primarily their Orthodox identity. Finding them in the Holy Land, Siberian pilgrims began to undergo changes in the perception of their identity, they became primarily Russian, and signs of linguistic and territorial affiliation came first in their identity. Jews, in turn, received a completely new quality in this context, the pilgrimage notes show us the emergence of a completely new type of Jew - Russian in the Russian mental map, and it can be assumed that this type had more signs of “ours” than “alien” for a Russian piligrim.

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