Gheorghe Asachi şi călătoria sa în Rusia (1830)
Gheorghe Asachi and his trip to Russia (1830)

Summary/Abstract: Gheorghe Asachi (1788-1869) is one of the best-known Romanian men of culture from the first half of the nineteenth century. He is known for his literary and journalistic activity as well as his contribution to the organization of the Romanian higher education system. However, his political activity is less known. Asachi was one of the artisans and leading figures of the Organic Regulations regime, introduced in Moldavia by the Russian occupation regime beginning with 1830. In 1830 he traveled to Sankt Petersburg in his capacity as secretary of the committee that drafted the Organic Regulation for Moldavia. Following this trip, he published a travel diary entitled Estract din jurnalul unui călători moldovean [Excerpt from the Diary of a Moldavian Traveler] in the „Albina românească” newspaper (1830). The present article discusses this diary and argues that Asachi presents Russia as a model of development and civilization and as an alternative to the traditional cultural models that were prevalent in the Romanian society at the time (the French and German models). One should connect Asachi’s image of Russia to the propagandistic effort of the Russian authorities to improve the image of the country in the Romanian Principalities.

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