A new article by Ekaterina Boltunova in the journal "Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie"

A new article “’I Have Spoken the Word of Truth Before You!’: Alexander I’s Speech in the Grand Duchy of Finland and Congress Poland” by the Laboratory Head Ekaterina Boltunova was published in the fifth issue of the journal "Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie" for 2021.

 Abstract:

This article provides analysis of the formation of political rhetoric in Russia at the beginning of the 19th century using the example of Alexander I’s speeches to the parliaments of the Grand Duchy of Finland (1809) and the Kingdom of Poland (1818, 1820, and 1825). The analysis is carried out by comparing sources to those of the previous period (e.g., Catherine the Great’s speech at the opening of the Legislative Commission,1767) and is interpreted in the context of communication not only with Finland and Poland, but with the Russian Empire as a whole. The author demonstrates the shift that occurred in political rhetoric over the course of this period and examines forms of communicating political ideas at this time. In the appendix to this article, two speeches by Alexander I are published, which were given before the Polish Sejm in 1818.

Full text (in Russian) of the article is available here.