RUSSIAN-GERMAN CONNECTIONS IN THE EDITING PRACTICE IN THE MID-19TH CENTURY: VASILIY ZHUKOVSKY AND JUSTINUS KERNER

Abstract

The article reconstructs the history of creative communication between the German romanticist, J. Kerner (1786-1862), and V.A. Zhukovsky (1783-1852), a Russian poet, cultural and political figure and mentor of Alexander II. It also introduces the first edition of German authorized translations of Zhukovsky’s works, «Ostergabe für das Jahr 1850» (Baden-Baden, 1850), as well as a separate edition and the result of this international cooperation, «Das Märchen von Iwan Zarewitsch und dem grauen Wolf», which became popular in Germany.Purpose: The purpose of the article is to reconstruct the context of international co-operation in editing practice between V.A. Zhukovsky, a Russian poet and mentor of the impe-rial family, and a famous German romanticist, mystic and lite-rary man J. Kerner.Methodology. The research methodology combines culture-historical, problem-chronological and historico-genetical analysis methods.Results. The study ascertains new important facts of Russian-German co-operation, as well as introduces new sources of fundamental importance that may play a significant role for researchers and publishers dealing with V.A. Zhukovsky’s heritage.Practical implications. The findings allow to widen and deepen the knowledge of Russian romanticism, V.A. Zhukovsky’s creative biography and heritage, as well as the character of Russian-West-European intercultural contacts in the XIX century; the research findings can be used in teaching various disciplines of the historic-literary, translation and culturological profiles.

Keywords

• international cooperation
• editing practice
• translation
• V.A. Zhukovsky
• J. Kerner