Approaches to Paleogeopolitical Research Based on the Study of Literary Heritage (the Case of the Heritage of F. M. Dostoevsky)
https://doi.org/10.31857/S2587556621040038
Abstract
This article introduces the concept of paleogeopolitics – a discipline that aims to reconstruct all types of geopolitical representations, phenomena, and processes that existed in the past within the area of interest. The uniqueness of the proposed method of retrospective research of geopolitical representations is that it is not based on geopolitical sources but on works of art. The present article demonstrates how paleogeopolitical research can be conducted based on the material of the literary heritage of an individual writer. It also specifies what literary sources and research methods are most relevant in reconstructing the geopolitical processes of the time. The article proposes a paleogeopolitical study based on the works of Fyodor Dostoevsky. To determine the structural elements of the reconstructed geopolitics, the use of G. O’Tuathail’s typology of critical geopolitics is suggested. The present study offers a comprehensive assessment of the entire spectrum of potential paleogeopolitical studies based on the works of Dostoevsky, which would allow researchers to assess the geopolitical landscape of the writer’s world. The application of the proposed paleogeopolitical research to the analysis of the concept of “the Kirghiz Steppes” in the writer’s geopolitical world view is demonstrated. The results have shown the process of changing the status of “the Kirghiz Steppes” in Dostoevsky’s works and in the social consciousness of the time: from the frontier of the Empire to their own territory, and later to a new heartland.
Keywords
geopolitics,
paleogeopolitics,
paleogeography,
critical geopolitics,
Dostoevsky,
Russian Empire,
the Kirghiz Steppes
Supporting agencies: The research was carried out with the financial support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project no. 18-012-90020/20. This paper was supported by the Russian Academic Excellence Project at the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University.
About the Authors
K. E. Axenov
Saint Petersburg University (St. Petersburg); Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University (Kaliningrad)
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
M. V. Mikhnovetc
Dostoevsky Museum
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
St. Petersburg
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For citations:
Axenov K.E., Mikhnovetc M.V. Approaches to Paleogeopolitical Research Based on the Study of Literary Heritage (the Case of the Heritage of F. M. Dostoevsky). Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk. Seriya Geograficheskaya. 2021;85(4):616-628. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31857/S2587556621040038
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