Alexander von Humboldt. The fate of heritage in Russia in 19th – early 20th centuries

Abstract

The article attempts to examine the attitude of Russian society to the heritage of the universal Prussian scientist, the great traveler Alexander von Humboldt. Based on the study of his biography, the present work shows that from his youth Humboldt sought to investigate the natural environment and did not fit the common Prussian trend – to make a career primarily in State service. Alexander von Humboldt got interested in the East after his journeys to South and North America, but managed to achieve his dreams only in 1829. It’s the Russian expedition of Alexander von Humboldt that became the factor of the distribution of his heritage within the scientific and educational space of Russia in the middle of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. An important achievement is the translation into Russian of the most essential works of the great scholar: “Pictures of Nature”, “Cosmos”. The article, on the basis of archival documents, discusses the dramatic fate of the Russian translation of Humboldt’s “Central Asia” written to the outcome of his trip to Russia. The revolutions of 1917 prevented the completion of the translation of that work, which, until now, is presented in only one volume in the Russian language.