W kręgu niepokojów rosyjskich elit władzy: Alieksiej Sidorov – cenzor w roli publicysty i historyka
Concerns of Russian Ruling Elites: Alexei Sidorov – a Censor in the Role of a Journalist and a Historian

Author(s): Alicja Kulecka
Subject(s): 19th Century
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Alexei Sidorov; censor; Russian historiography; Russian ruling elites; Polish national identity; tsarist imperial policy
Summary/Abstract: Alexei Sidorov was an advocate of a strong Russian Empire with the centralized administration. He can also be considered an advocate of the modern state, which, according to him, meant the ability to use social communication techniques (the press) and infrastructure (hard roads, railways) to achieve specific strategic objectives. According to Sidorov, the main institution responsible for the social policy was a monarchy. Thus, he was not a supporter of a form of statehood associated with Polish identity based on representative institutions, control of king’s power, participation of society in decision-making, etc. These ideas were foreign to the Russian state and national identity. While praising peaceful, civilization imperialist activities, at the same time Sidorov admired the colonizers of the Polish lands who successfully employed military methods. His case proves that among the Russian elites there were attitudes reluctant to the Polish identity and to any attempts to change the political status of the Polish lands remaining within the Russian borders.

• Details
• Contents