“European par excellence”: an unfinished biography of S. S. Uvarov, written by P. I. Bartenev

Abstract

The publication and academic commentary on P. I. Bartenev’s previously unknown work, “Biography of Count S. S. Uvarov”, which is housed in the P. I. Bartenev Archive at the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art (fond 46), represents the first attempt at a scholarly biography of the prominent 19th-century enlightened administrator S. S. Uvarov. This work, written by P. I. Bartenev in 1864 at the behest of A. S. Uvarov (the son of S. S. Uvarov), has until now remained unknown to historians and is now being introduced into scholarly discourse for the first time. Despite the fact that the work of P. I. Bartenev is incomplete and ends with the birth of S. S. Uvarov in 1786, it is a unique source. The author provides valuable information about the origins of the Uvarov family and the biographies of the parents of S. S. Uvarov, Sergei Fedorovich and Daria Ivanovna (née Golovina). The work also offers interesting observations on the activities and ideological principles of S. S., as well as its significance in the formation of the national education system. From the perspective of P. I. Bartenev, the “promotion of European principles” was the central theme of S. S. Uvarov’s government and socio-political activities throughout his political and academic career, and in this respect, he can be described as “European par excellence”. A comprehensive collection of materials gathered by P. I. Bartenev while researching S. S. Uvarov merits special attention. These include his poems from 1806–1808, extracts from a notebook (written in French), and a unique letter from his father, Sergei Fedorovich, to his wife Daria Ivanovna (née Golovina), dated July 3, 1788, from Vyborg, shortly prior to the death of S. F. Uvarov during the Russo-Swedish War of 1788–1790, as well as letters from S. S. to his mother in 1809, among other documents. Many of these documents, which were utilized by P. I. Bartenev in preparing the “Biography...”, remained unpublished after the death of S.S., and therefore possess special significance. The work of Bartenev, as well as the materials gathered during the course of his research, is of significant interest to scholars studying the history of education and the state and academic endeavors of S. S. Uvarov.