The image of America in Nikolay Nekrasov and Ivan Panaev’s Sovremennik in the late 1840s

The article studies the image of America in Sovremennik, one of the leading Russian magazines of the mid-19th century, in the late 1840s. The analysis showed that the magazine created different images of North and South America. The former, represented primarily by the North American States (one of the country names for the United States of America used in the magazine), featured primarily in information and analytical publications. The magazine reflected the then practice of Russian-American production and economic interaction. It called North America a dangerous rival for Russia due to a number of advantages of the former, reported on its successes in the development of copper mines, the development of shipping, railways, etc., on the achievements of Americans in various fields of science, the increase in population due to migration from Europe. Since the December issue of 1848, the editors began to inform readers about the sensational opening of gold mines in California. The magazine portrayed the United States as a civilized yet racially segregated country, "slowly, steadily, with axe, plough, and gun in hand" pushing "independent Indian tribes " out of the "untouched forests of America" in its quest to conquer and develop new lands. South America was portrayed in Sovremennik at the end of the 1840s predominantly in essay materials and was presented as a continent with amazing nature, as a socially disadvantaged region (with rare exceptions) that retained slavery. The magazine depicted the "disastrous state " of Peru, where internecine war had been going on for twenty years due to the fault of the rulers, social stratification and inequality, racial and gender discrimination. Mexico was described in a similar way - with a high crime rate and appalling living conditions in the provinces and with a "combination of pomp and poverty" in the capital, where in "earthen holes [...] the pitiful remnants of the native tribe are born and live." The image of Cuba, dynamically developing in all spheres, stood out. Publications about the conquest of America and the historical guilt of the colonialists towards the autochthonous population complemented the images of both Americas created by Sovremennik with tragedy. The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

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