Subject: боя́р nobleman
Culture: Russian
Setting: Russian Enlightenment, Russian empire 18thc
Context (Event Photos, Primary Sources, Secondary Sources, Field Notes)
* Hosking 2012 p45-46
"From the early 18th century, and especially after the Seven Years' War (1756-63), no one could deny that Russia was a member of the European 'club': its military victories spoke for themselves. All the same, Europe's elites still regarded Russia as being in some way alien: its sheer size and massive population, its immense resources, its military might, its semi-Asiatic geography, its ever-expanding frontiers, and its uncertain ambitions all inclined European statesmen to regard it with suspicion and distrust.
"Russia really had not choice but to make itself amenable to this disdainful 'club': To defend its long and mostly open frontiers, to deal with threats of sedition among its very diverse populations, Russia needed not only a powerful army and navy, but also friendly relations with its European neighbours, sometimes achieved by royal marriages. It also needed where possible to gain confidential knowledge of European powers' intentions and capabilities.
"For that reason, from Peter I onwards, Russia's statesmen gave priority to training noblemen in European languages and sending them on tours around the European capitals to participate in polite society and to get to know the intentions of the courts and the peoples' customs. The new Cadet Corps which trained future army officers in ballistics and fortification also taught them music, dancing, social etiquette, and foreign languages. Graduates spoke excellent French and were soon to be found mixing gracefully with high society in France and Germany. Moreover, Catherine II herself as Empress corresponded with Voltaire and Diderot, two leading thinkers of the European Enlightenment.
"The inevitable result was to create a yawing gap between the way of life of the ordinary people and that of Russia's elites, who gradually became more numerous during the 18th and 19th centuries. This gap was especially damaging to the church, whose culture changed far less than that of secular elites."
Costume
* Russian splendor 2014 p71 (Yu. V Plotnikova, "Fashion and style at the Russian court" p70-105)
"[M]embers of the ruling dynasty started dressing fashionably, in the modern sense of the word, only in the early eighteenth century. The word moda (Russian for 'fashion') comes from the Latin modus ('mode,' or 'method') and calls for following certain rules in dress and behavior. Since inherent in the Russian autocracy was the concept of absolute rule (with responsibility before God for one's actions), Russian emperors and ruling empresses considered it their duty to determine not only the norms of behavior of their subjects at work and in private life, but also their appearance. The first emperor to set these rules by royal decree and to change into European dress was Peter I, also called Peter the Great. His decree of 1701 read: 'Boyars and Nobles of Moscow [...] and Residents and urban Nobles and children of Boyars [...] and dragoons and soldiers and streltsy [...] and all ranks of people of Moscow and city dwellers [...] must wear German dress, Saxon and French outer wear, and beneath German camisoles and trousers and boots and shoes and hats; the female sex of all ranks [...] must wear German dresses and hats and beneath them German skirts and shoes.' The speed with which he 'changed' these people into European clothing is a wonderful illustration of the origins of the word mundir [Russian for 'uniform,' from the Latin moderari -- 'to lead,' or 'to manage')."
* Russian splendor 2014 p54 (TT Korahunova & NI Tarasova, "Ceremonial costumes of the Russian court" p52-69)
"In the time of Peter I, also called Peter the Great, clothing for formal audiences and assemblies were costumes [sic] made in the latest European fashion. The gentleman of the court preferred the type of men's costume developed in France in the court of King Louis XIV in the late seventeenth century: a long, narrow-waisted coat, with effectively placed side folds, a tight-fitted camisole, and breeches. In Russia, as in France, where the king truly was the 'sun' of French fashion, the first Russian emperor and his closest retinue set the style. In formal costumes Peter the Great preferred red, brown, and green fabrics. Exquisite embroidery with gold and silver thread showed beautifully on coat, camisole, and breeches. The precise cut and noble colors supported the frothy Spanish and Genoa lace, and the numerous buttons, deftly covered in metal thread, glow on the fabric like precious stones. A characteristic of Peter's outer clothing is collars on the coats, for he did not like to wear wigs."
* Onassis ed. 1976 p
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* Pycckий кocтюм p
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Pistol
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Sword
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