Copyright

Anita Frison

Published On

2026-02-19

Page Range

pp. 11–64

Language

  • English

Print Length

54 pages

1. Strangers. Russians Discover Black Africa

  • Anita Frison (author)
Chapter of: Africa in Russian Imperial Culture: Race, Empire, and Representation (1850-1917)(pp. 11–64)
This chapter introduces the various Russian figures—explorers, travellers, soldiers, scholars, doctors, writers, and artists—who created and circulated knowledge about Sub-Saharan Africa. It considers both how their work was received by the Russian public and how it paralleled that of Western colonial agents. Some of these individuals travelled to Africa for diverse reasons, while others helped construct its image without ever visiting the continent.

Contributors

Anita Frison

(author)
PI of a Stars@Unipd at University of Padua

Anita Frison holds a PhD in Linguistic, Philological and Literary Studies from the University of Padua. She has since taught Russian Literature at the universities of Urbino, Macerata, Venice and Padua, publishing several scientific articles and edited volumes She is currently the PI of a Stars@Unipd grant (https://www.unipd.it/en/stars), with a project entitled 'AfTeR – The African Text: Representing Africa in Imperial Russia (1850-1917)'. Her research interests include Russian literature and culture (19th-early 20th century), Russo-African relations, the Russian Empire and its entanglements, Semiotic, Postcolonial Theory, and Cultural studies. Since 2020 she is the co-editor-in-chief of the peer-reviewed journal eSamizdat (www.esamizdat.it).