Two emperors – two eras. A view from Russia on the personality and politics of Napoleon Bonaparte and Napoleon III: a comparative analysis

The subject of this study is the views of domestic conservative and liberal thinkers from the mid-19th to the second half of the 19th century on the personality and activities of Napoleon Bonaparte and Napoleon III. It is noted that there has always been a high level of interest in Russian society regarding events occurring in France. This interest was associated both with the ideological attitudes among the Russian nobility and with the contradictions that existed between Russia and France in the 19th century. This concerns the Patriotic War of 1812 and the anti-Napoleonic wars of the early century, as well as the Crimean Campaign of 1853-1856. These events had a significant impact on the perception of France in Russia, as well as on the assessments made in Russian society about French rulers. However, the authors emphasize a marked difference in the representations of domestic thinkers regarding Napoleon Bonaparte and Napoleon III, with a certain respect for the former and clear criticism and even disdain for the latter. The main methods of this research can be called comparative, allowing for a comparative analysis of opinions and assessments, and revealing the characteristic features in the perception of French leaders in Russian public opinion. It seems that this problem has not been studied before, i.e., no special research has been undertaken to compare the policies of French emperors in Russian public thought of the 19th century. In this regard, it seems quite interesting to conduct a comparative analysis of existing assessments, helping to understand the reason for the respectful attitude towards Napoleon Bonaparte in Russia and the almost complete oblivion or criticism of his nephew. Among the main conclusions reached by the authors, the following can be highlighted: in Russian society of the 19th century, there was a constant interest both in foreign policy aspects and in individual states. In particular, such interest was observed in relation to France, the embodiment and collective image of which were undoubtedly those rulers who were remembered for their bright reforms, military successes/failures, and, of course, their interactions with Russia.