The Interior Is More Important Than the Exterior": Images of Contemporaries in Nikolay Karamzin's Letters

The article considers evaluations, portrait characteristics, and qualities of contemporaries from Nikolay Karamzin's closest circle fixed in his epistolary heritage. The systematic reconstruction of the real picture of the historiographer's literature, daily and social relations allows a deeper comprehension and a scientific description of his legacy, which makes the study relevant. As a result of the study, the author revealed the basic principles of creating contemporaries' images specific to Karamzin's epistolary behavior and patterns in the characterization and evaluation of individuals; she also determined the interrelation of these principles and patterns with the historiographer's worldview. The main elements of the contemporaries' description in Karamzin's letters are external manifestations of the inner world, character traits, actions, less often portrait traits. Portrait details are mainly found in the description of the royal family members. Angelic motives are invariably included in the characteristics of the reigning persons Karamzin most often met with in his life. Karamzin's historical and philosophical ideas, his monarchism, conservatism based on a synthesis of humanistic ideas, Orthodoxy, and political principles of autocracy had an influence on how he described the appearance, spiritual qualities, gave evaluations of the royal family representatives' actions. The dominant characteristics of the emperor in Karamzin's letters represent the historiographer's ideas about the ideal monarch and his historical mission. Karamzin pays attention to the state of mind, intelligence, way of thinking when giving characteristics to his friends and acquaintances. All these become the main object of his evaluation. At the same time, his focus is on the positive spiritual qualities of the people mentioned in the letters. Karamzin's letters, like his entire creative activities, can be viewed from the standpoint of a certain positive program, which found its expression, among other things, in the concept of the hero of the time, inextricably linked with his historiosophical worldview. The characteristics from Karamzin's letters show how judgments about people, regardless of generally accepted opinions, become a reflection of Karamzin's worldview, a practical manifestation of his philosophy of life, and a kind of a behavioral text. Besides, the letters make it possible to imagine Karamzin's closest circle through the prism of the author's worldview, which is extremely important for the full coverage of the entire range of literature, friendly, official, monarchist ties of the poet, writer, publisher, historiographer, and man.

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