Participation of Professor Olga Volosyuk in the Scientific Conference “Spain and Europe in Mutual Reflections (16th–17th Centuries)”

On May 19 and 20, the A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences hosted the Scientific Conference “Spain and Europe in Mutual Reflections (16th–17th Centuries)”. The conference brought together researchers from Lomonosov Moscow State University, the Russian State University for the Humanities, HSE University, RANEPA, the Institute of World Literature, and the Institute of World History.

Olga Volosyuk delivered a presentation titled “From Myth to Reality: The Evolution of Perceptions of Spain in Russian Historical Sources of the 16th-18th Centuries”. The paper demonstrated how Russia's perceptions of Spain evolved from fragmentary, semi-mythical accounts to a comprehensive, objective geographical and historical picture over the course of the 16th to 18th centuries. The formation of Spain's image in Russia did not occur in isolation; rather, it was part of a broader European process of “mutual reflections” shaped by European mediation and the geopolitical context.

The earliest structured knowledge reached Russia through translations of Polish, Dutch, and German works, causing the image to develop as a “reflection of a reflection”-viewed through the lens of how other European nations perceived Spain. In 17th and 18th-century sources, Spain's status was examined in inextricable connection with pan-European processes. The presentation provided a detailed analysis of the dynamics behind the transition “from myth to reality,” tracing how Russia - drawing upon a wide range of sources - overcame speculative stereotypes, formed an objective view of Spain, and harmoniously integrated its image into the pan-European context.