«Восточный вопрос»

In the present paper we analyze the correspondence in 1908 between two prominent Russian publicists at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries Ismail Gasprinsky and Mikhail Menshikov in the context of intensification of the military and political crisis in Europe and the unresolved «Eastern question». Furthermore, we compare their views on the necessity to form a Russian-Turkish political union.

The article examines the process of forming the image of Austria in Russian public opinion in the 19th – early 20th century. The author pays main attention to the influence that public opinion had during this period on the development of Russian-Austrian relations. The author concludes that the negative image of Austria formed in public opinion had a significant impact on the development of the Russian government’s foreign policy, hindered the search for compromises and pushed for confrontation.