The «Visual Revolution» of the Petrine Era: the Political Origins of the New Imagery

This paper is devoted to the identification of the political root causes of the emergence of new imagery during the reign of Peter the Great. The aim of the study was to examine the circumstances of the emergence of new imagery, taking into account the identification of the primary audience for which this imagery was originally designed. The structure involves two chapters, as well as an introduction, a historiographical survey, and a conclusion. Since few people systematically work with visual texts of the Petrine era in the context of historical and political research, the first chapter considers historical studies related to the interpretation of visual sources of the Petrine era in their relationship with the named context. The second chapter is devoted to the consideration of monuments that encapsulate new figurative systems that first proliferated on a large scale in the early Petrine era. These monuments (first of all, of triumphal character) are considered both in the pan-European context of figurative language and in connection with the historical circumstances of their origin. In order to identify the first addressees of the Petrine new imagery and to achieve completeness of the study, the materials of statistical data on the composition of the military elites of the Petrine time are considered. The conducted research allowed us to conclude that Peter created a new culture not for abstract enlightenment (in the context of spreading education and knowledge) - such a widespread opinion is erroneous. First of all, triumphs (the cradle of new imagery) were created for their participants - military leaders. And since foreigners prevailed among them, the visual imagery was subordinated to the pan-European principles of celebrating military victories. At the same time, because such language was universal for European powers, Peter also actively used it to communicate with his military allies and opponents. Realizing the effectiveness of visual influence, Peter began to introduce new imagery among his Russian subjects. Facing misunderstanding and resistance on the part of the Russian people led to the emergence of the next political task - "bringing the barbarian nation to the theater of glory of the civilized world". The study shows that such a formulation, introduced into Petrine political strategies, is only a technique designed to construct a new reality, the pinnacle of which is Peter himself, acting "for the good of the Fatherland". At the same time, Peter deliberately underestimated the importance of his compatriots, destroying their idea of their high status, which should have made it psychologically possible to assimilate Western information. Thus, the study concludes that initially Peter focused his visual policy on foreigners both inside and outside Russia. And Peter's next political task, in which visuality plays a key role, was to educate his subjects - not only for the purpose of enlightenment, but also for the purpose of disciplinary management.