An 18th-century Austrian diplomat would have supported Putin in assessing the Russians

In his address to the Federal Assembly, Vladimir Putin, among many other topics, paid attention to the general characteristics of people living in our country. According to the president, the main features characteristic of Russians are generosity and compassion. We decided to look back and evaluate what character traits, according to contemporaries, were most characteristic of our distant and not very distant ancestors.

“Here I want to talk about the character of our people. He was always distinguished by generosity, breadth of soul, mercy and compassion. And Russia, as a country, fully reflects these traits in itself,” Putin said. “We know how to be friends, keep our word, we won’t let anyone down, we will always support in a difficult situation.”

Having learned such an opinion from the “first person”, voiced in the 23rd year of the 21st century, it is interesting to recall what “reference” characteristics were given to the Russians before. Our own – compatriots, and strangers – visiting guests.

Some of the statements of famous historical figures and travelers were shared with MK by the writer Alexei Bulgakov, who for many years has been collecting materials to use them in the future book “Why are we Russians like this?” and compiled, among other things, a rich collection of quotations.

Let’s go back to the distant past. Here are the views of foreigners who came here in the Middle Ages to Rus’.

The Englishman Richard Chancellor, who found himself in the state of Moscow in the 16th century, under Ivan the Terrible, later wrote: “I think that under the sun there are no people so accustomed to a harsh life as the Russians: no cold bothers them, although they have to spend in a field for two months at a time when it is cold and snow falls more than a yard.

If the Russians knew their strength, no one could compete with them … But I think that this is not God’s will: I can compare the Russians with a young horse who does not know his strength and allows a small child to control himself and behave on bridle, despite all its great strength; but if this horse were conscious of it, then neither a child nor an adult would have coped with it.

Several centuries later, another Englishman, the poet Baring Maurice (1874-1945), having become acquainted with life in the country and, moreover, who knew Russian literature well, argued: “The positive properties of the Russian people: plasticity and, in connection with it, humanity, flexibility of mind, sincerity, freedom thoughts and morals, energy and courage of thought. Lack of sense of proportion, realism and common sense, patience and unity of purpose; Russian man combines Peter the Great, Prince Myshkin and Khlestakov.

The Austrian diplomat John Korb (1670–1741) remarked: “The more virtues flourish in these people, the more worries and worries they experienced to achieve them.” This opinion seems to be very close in essence to the current assessments of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.

And the famous German scientist and traveler Adam Olearius (1599-1671) emphasized: “They have no shortage of good heads for learning.”

The same characteristic and very important feature was noted many years later by the American Andrew White, who in 1892-1894 was the ambassador of the United States to the empire headed by Alexander III: of people”.

Our world-famous classic Leo Tolstoy stated: “Here they are, Russian characters: it seems that a simple person, but a severe misfortune will come, and the great strength of human beauty will rise in him.”

Finally, a statement from the relatively recent past. It belongs to our famous scientist, Academician Dmitry Likhachev. He noted that “the amplitude of fluctuations between good and evil in the Russian people is extremely high. Centrist positions are difficult, if not simply unbearable for a Russian person.”

As you can see, the palette of views, the scale of assessments is very wide. The characteristics of the people living in the country looked very different at different times. And of course, such differences in assessments were often determined by nationality. It was sometimes very difficult for foreigners to form an objective opinion.