«HISTORY WILL GAIN NOTHING NEW FROM THESE LETTERS»: TRANSLATIONS OF «LADY RONDEAU'S LETTERS» (۱۷۲۸–۱۷۳۹) IN ۱۹TH-CENTURY RUSSIA

This article discusses the history of translations into Russian of Jane Vigor’s work – «Letters from a lady, who resided some years in Russia, to her friend in England» (۱۷۷۵). The «Letters» were written in an informal style and contain various episodes from ۱۷۲۹ to ۱۷۳۹ associated with the court of the Russian Empress Anna Ioannovna. For the first time in Russia, «Letters» were translated only in ۱۸۲۲, in total there were three translations (۱۸۲۲, ۱۸۳۶, ۱۸۷۴) and only the last one was as close as possible to the original. It is important to note that only the first edition of the «Letters» was included in the translations, while the Russian translators hadn’t been aware of the very rare pamphlet «Eleven additional letters from Russia, in the reign of Peter II», which was published in London in ۱۷۸۴. The «Letters» are a valuable source of information on the life of the Russian court under Peter II and Anna Ioannovna rule, which makes it possible to compare the cultural values of England and Russia, which are shared at the level of diplomatic elites.Extended abstract:This article discusses the history of the translation into Russian of Jane Vigor's work - "Letters from a Lady, who resided some years in Russia, to her friend in England" (hereafter referred to as "Letters"), published anonymously in London in ۱۷۷۵. The "Letters" are written in an informal style and contain various episodes from ۱۷۲۹ to ۱۷۳۹ related to the court of the Russian Empress Anna Ioannovna. The publication of the "Letters" aroused great interest not only among the English reading public, and by the end of ۱۷۷۶ they were available in translations into German, French and Dutch. In Russia, translations of the "Letters" did not appear until the ۱۹th century. The aim of the study is to analyse and identify the characteristics of the first translations of "Letters" into Russian in the ۱۹th century. The key question of the study is: why do translations of Jane Vigor's "Letters" into Russian appear later in Russia than in Europe? The novelty of the study lies in the fact that, for the first time in Russian historiography, the author undertakes a comprehensive analysis of the characteristics of translations of Jane Vigor's Letters into Russian in the ۱۹th century. The Letters were first translated into Russian in ۱۸۲۲, and there were three translations in all. The first short translation was made by A.O. Kornilovich in the magazine "Syn Otechestva" in ۱۸۲۲. The second translation was published by M.K. Kastorsky in ۱۸۳۶, but it was also very unsatisfactory. A new scholarly translation of the 'Letters' by E.P. Karnovich appeared in ۱۸۷۴, as close as possible to the original, with a preface by the Russian historian K.N. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, notes and an alphabetical index. It is important to note that only the first edition of the 'Letters' was included in the translations, while the Russian translators were unaware of the very rare pamphlet 'Eleven additional letters from Russia, in the reign of Peter II', published in London in ۱۷۸۴. The "Letters" are a valuable source of information on the life of the Russian court under Peter II and Anne Ioannovna, which makes it possible to compare the cultural values of England and Russia shared at the level of the diplomatic elite.The author concludes that the Letters came to Russia's attention later than in Europe and were ignored by translators for a long time, as the content of the Letters was underestimated in the Russian Empire and given the label of "secondary historical source". The work of K.N. Bestuzhev-Ryumin and M.I. Semevsky allowed the Letters to take their rightful place among other foreign writings on Russia in the ۱۸th century.This article discusses the history of translations into Russian of Jane Vigor’s work – «Letters from a lady, who resided some years in Russia, to her friend in England» (۱۷۷۵). The «Letters» were written in an informal style and contain various episodes from ۱۷۲۹ to ۱۷۳۹ associated with the court of the Russian Empress Anna Ioannovna. For the first time in Russia, «Letters» were translated only in ۱۸۲۲, in total there were three translations (۱۸۲۲, ۱۸۳۶, ۱۸۷۴) and only the last one was as close as possible to the original. It is important to note that only the first edition of the «Letters» was included in the translations, while the Russian translators hadn’t been aware of the very rare pamphlet «Eleven additional letters from Russia, in the reign of Peter II», which was published in London in ۱۷۸۴. The «Letters» are a valuable source of information on the life of the Russian court under Peter II and Anna Ioannovna rule, which makes it possible to compare the cultural values of England and Russia, which are shared at the level of diplomatic elites. Extended abstract: This article discusses the history of the translation into Russian of Jane Vigor's work - "Letters from a Lady, who resided some years in Russia, to her friend in England" (hereafter referred to as "Letters"), published anonymously in London in ۱۷۷۵. The "Letters" are written in an informal style and contain various episodes from ۱۷۲۹ to ۱۷۳۹ related to the court of the Russian Empress Anna Ioannovna. The publication of the "Letters" aroused great interest not only among the English reading public, and by the end of ۱۷۷۶ they were available in translations into German, French and Dutch. In Russia, translations of the "Letters" did not appear until the ۱۹th century. The aim of the study is to analyse and identify the characteristics of the first translations of "Letters" into Russian in the ۱۹th century. The key question of the study is: why do translations of Jane Vigor's "Letters" into Russian appear later in Russia than in Europe? The novelty of the study lies in the fact that, for the first time in Russian historiography, the author undertakes a comprehensive analysis of the characteristics of translations of Jane Vigor's Letters into Russian in the ۱۹th century. The Letters were first translated into Russian in ۱۸۲۲, and there were three translations in all. The first short translation was made by A.O. Kornilovich in the magazine "Syn Otechestva" in ۱۸۲۲. The second translation was published by M.K. Kastorsky in ۱۸۳۶, but it was also very unsatisfactory. A new scholarly translation of the 'Letters' by E.P. Karnovich appeared in ۱۸۷۴, as close as possible to the original, with a preface by the Russian historian K.N. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, notes and an alphabetical index. It is important to note that only the first edition of the 'Letters' was included in the translations, while the Russian translators were unaware of the very rare pamphlet 'Eleven additional letters from Russia, in the reign of Peter II', published in London in ۱۷۸۴. The "Letters" are a valuable source of information on the life of the Russian court under Peter II and Anne Ioannovna, which makes it possible to compare the cultural values of England and Russia shared at the level of the diplomatic elite.The author concludes that the Letters came to Russia's attention later than in Europe and were ignored by translators for a long time, as the content of the Letters was underestimated in the Russian Empire and given the label of "secondary historical source". The work of K.N. Bestuzhev-Ryumin and M.I. Semevsky allowed the Letters to take their rightful place among other foreign writings on Russia in the ۱۸th century.