Авторский стереотип немца в Исповеди Михаила Бакунина

Abstract

The author of this article observes that the Russian rebel, the European revolutions follower, the destroyer of the statehood, raised many contemporary problems in his narration and the question of the national identity in particular. She notes that the German theme has a dominant place in the book; and the Germans themselves are represented in two ways by Bakunin. On the one hand he draws real historical people with their individual traits and characteristics (Arnold Ruge, Adolf Reikhel, Rikhardom Vagner, Georg Gerveg, Emma Zigmund, Vilgelm Veitling, Maks Shtirner, Karl Avgust Varngagen, and many others); and many of them are considered close, precious, and are highly valued as well as admired by him. On the other hand he creates a generic image of “a German person”; the characteristic features of it are negative, with only one exception. Bakunin’s stereotype of a German includes: the pompous Pan-Germanism; the measured philistinism that embodies mediocrity, narrow-mindness and selfsatisfaction; arrogance towards the other nations; the focus on narrow national interests.