Образ Петра Великого в странах Восточной Азии

423 Overview perceptions concerning other peoples are formed and stereotypes based on these perceptions are the object of study carried out with the help of methods and instruments of historical imagology. If we consider such issues more thoroughly, it becomes evident that when confronting and perceiving the culture of another nation the popular consciousness tends to concentrate on certain events, objects and names of historical figures that are associated with the past or present of a particular nation or country. These images-symbols remarkably affect foreign attitudes to a certain country and the ways it is understood beyond its borders, and start to be fully identified with the country which they represent and/or symbolize. In the case of Russia, the symbolic image of such type, a sort of its ‘visiting card’ is the figure of Peter the Great. This is especially true for the East Asian countries (China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, to name a few). Nowadays the name of Peter I is well-known for both intellectuals and general public of these countries, with his figure becoming one of the most popular and recognizable foreign historical personalities. Whole sections and chapters of school books on world history are devoted to him, his image can be found in fiction and cinematography, comical strips and graphic books, his character and reforms are a topic for discussions on the Internet sites. Of note is the fact that the multifaceted activities of Peter the Great exerted a direct influence on the establishment of regular, durable political, commercial, scientific and cultural contacts of Russia with numerous countries of the East, including such states as China and Japan. It was under Peter’s rule that the foundations of Russia’s relations with these countries were laid, the relations that were later developed and deepened. Chapter 1, “The Chinese Vector of Peter the Great’s Foreign Policy” (by N. Samoylov), holistically addresses the issue of Peter the Great’s role in the establishing and forming of this direction in the Russian foreign policy in the early 18th century. Under close scrutiny is Peter’s attitude to the Treaty of Nerchinsk (1689) and his striving for the sides’ due respect to its paragraphs. Detailed descriptions are given to the missions of Eberhard Isbrand Ides and Adam Brand to China, Lorenz Lange’s trips to Peking and his executing Peter’s diplomatic and scientific commissions of, as well as to Lev Izmailov’s embassy and to the specific features of the Chinese cultural code of diplomatic etiquette. Besides that, the role and significance of the Dzungar factor in Russia-China relations of Peter the Great’s reign are analyzed. All the mentioned subject matters have been studied on the basis of a thorough examination of historical sources of that time. Peter the Great’s contribution into the development of the East Asian vector of the Russian foreign policy can be hardly overestimated.