Review of the monograph "The Image of Peter the Great in the countries of East Asia"

Abstract

The article is a review of the collective monograph "The Image of Peter the Great in the Countries of East Asia," dedicated to a comprehensive study of the particularities of the representation of the image of the Russian Emperor Peter I in the countries of the East Asian cultural area. The monograph analyzes the foreign policy activities of Peter the Great in the East Asian direction, his role in establishing socio-cultural interaction between Russia and China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Based on an immense source base, the authors of the study strive to show the evolution and transformation of the image of Peter the Great – from the first mentions of his name to the present day, turning to a wide range of text and visual materials: magazine publications, popular science, fiction, journalistic, educational literature, Internet materials, films, comics, etc. The results of the study lead to the conclusion that all countries of the East Asian region have a generally positive image of Peter the Great. The progressive forces of these countries sought to project Petrine reforms in Russia onto the situation in their own states and use Russian experience to solve their problems.