“EXTERNAL” IMAGES OF RUS’ IN THE CONTEXT OF MACROINTEGRATION PROCESSES: MEDIEVAL “REALITIES” AND HISTORIOGRAPHY INTERPRETATIONS IN MODERN HISTORY PERIOD

Abstract

In this article the specialties of external images of Rus’ and its representatives/inhabitants which have been forming at international counterparties of the country within external relation and integration or intentions toward the latter are revealed. The problematic of external images of Rus’, in the author’s opinion, should not be accepted only as the problematic of spreading the information concerning this state and its population, because the information has a fragmentary character, and the images, in contrary, can be regarded as a relatively whole perception with emotional and ideas features. In the article different variants of the images were examined, the peculiarities of Rus’’s and its population’s perceptions by different confessional communities and certain countries in the context of their aspirations, expectations etc. were pointed. It was revealed that the term “Rusy” [Ruses] has been attaining in some usages the confessional connotation, e. g. during the pre-Christian period in relations with Byzantine Empire or in the time of contacts with Muslim East. It is proposed that the terms existing in the medieval international relations sphere had imprints of the images inherent to different discourses of the subjects of those relations and integration processes. Also, in the article has been made an attempt to correlate the external images of Rus’ with the conceptions of “Own”, “Alien” and “Other”. Additionally, the question on the influence of certain integration ideas in connection with some historiography tradition toward the formation “external” originated images of medieval Rus’ namely of initial period of its history in the historiography of XVIII – the early XX centuries was regarded. In particular, the issue of the influence of the idea of so-called Slavic reciprocity in Europe and of the perspective, at that moment, of reformatting of the system of European relations in the context of developing of modern nations on historiography images of Rus’ are paid attention. It is pointed on the role of Odesa scientific center in the attempt of creation of syncretic conception of early Rus’ history which can be determined as “Norman-Slavic”.