Russophiles and Russophobes: The Adventures of the French in Nikolaev Russia

In 1839, the Frenchman Marquis Astolf de Custine traveled to Russia and, according to its results, wrote, perhaps, one of the most famous and scandalous books about our country - "Russia in 1839", in which he created the demonic image of Russia as the “kingdom of facades” , "deserts without peace" and "prisons without rest." Meanwhile, many Frenchmen visited Nikolaev Russia. Some of them, like Kustin, made a short journey, others lived in Russia for some time. And many of them left their impressions of Russia. But if the book of Marquis de Custine became a bestseller, then the rest of the work for the Russian reader is known very little and most of them have never been translated into Russian. Why were these books in oblivion? What should have been, a book to stay in the memory of descendants? What image of Russia did Custin"s compatriots create? Were they only "clean" Russophiles or Russophobes? And has a view of Russia has changed since then? The author offers the reader to think together together on these