Greek Aristocrats in Russia in the Late 18th – Mid-19th c. (According to the Memoirs of A.V. Neklyudov)

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Abstract

The article analyzes the integration of Greek Phanariote aristocrats into Russian society, who arrived in Russia in the late 18th – early 19th centuries, based on the memoirs of the famous diplomat Anatoly Vasilyevich Neklyudov (1856–1943). The author’s ancestors came to Russia as political emigrants fleeing repression in the Ottoman Empire during the Russo-Turkish wars. In his «Family Chronicle», he describes the history of his family, which descended from several influential Phanariote families (Mouruzi, Komneno, Katakazi, Fetala). Despite its subjectivity and factual inaccuracies, this source contains valuable information for understanding the life, customs, and preservation of national traditions of the Greek diaspora in Russia. A study of the memoirs of A.V. Neklyudova and their comparison with other sources allows us to assess the complexity of the process of assimilation and preservation of the ethnic identity of Greek aristocrats in a new cultural environment, to identify the main factors that influenced these processes, to determine the sources of material well-being of the Greek elite, and to analyze its political and social connections.

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About the authors

Olga E. Petrunina

Lomonosov Moscow State University; Institute of Slavic Studies of Russian Academy of Sciences

Author for correspondence.
Email: petrunina.o.e@hist.msu.ru

DSc. (History), Professor, Leading Researcher

Russian Federation, Moscow; Moscow

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