Europe in Asia and Asia in Europe: Socio-Cultural Perceptions of the Inhabitants of Russia of the North-Western Caspian Sea area in the XIX - early XX centuries
The article focuses on socio - cultural perceptions of the north - western Caspian Sea area that were formed by people of Russia in the XIX and early XX century. It puts together the information from the Russian citizens who were travelling across Astrakhan province which at the time included the area in question. The study points out several most typical features that enable us to determine the way people living in Russia in the XIX and early XX century generally perceived the region in the socio - cultural sense. In the eyes of the contemporaries, Astrakhan province was, first of all, an under - populated, remote provincial part of the country which at the same time was seen as a border territory in a political and geographical sense - a certain kind of a bridge between Europe and Asia. The distinctive characteristic of the province was its multinational and multi - religious population, a great number of which were people of Asian origin. Different ethnic groups actively interacted and influenced each other, however, never mixed. The contemporaries also pointed out the peaceful coexistence of different religious groups, the relationships among which were built on the principle of non - interference and religious tolerance. The materials for the article are taken from the published sources.