August von Haxthausen: Difference between revisions

August was the last of eight sons of Werner Adolf, [[Freiherr]] von Haxthausen (1744-1823), "a typical prosperous backwater planter,"<ref>S. Frederick Starr, "Introduction," August von Haxthausen, ''Studies On the Interior of Russia'' (University of Chicago Press, 1972: {{ISBN |0-226-32022-7}}), p. viii.</ref> and the Baroness Marie-AnneLuise Wendt''Marianne'' Papenhausenvon Westphalen zu Heidelbeck (d. 1793), who also had nine daughters. Born on the family estate in Abbenburg, Haxthausen was sent to the [[Warburg]] estate of his uncle, Baron von Kalenberg, to be reared; there he received a traditional Catholic educationLiberal inarts ruraleducation surroundings.while Heliving completed his studies under the Bökendorf priest and at the mining school at [[Clausthal-Zellerfeld|Clausthal]], where he studied until 1812. In that year the Haxthausen estates were affected by a peasant revolt against the Bonapartist [[Kingdom of Westphalia]], a revolt that was "in somerural measure a rebuke to the dominant landed class" but that the Haxthausen family chose to interpret "as an act of defiance by true Germans against conditions created by the foreign domination,"<ref>Starr, "Introduction," psurroundings. ix.</ref> a view which strongly influenced the young August, who participated in the [[War of the Sixth Coalition]] against France. His activities at this time were recorded by his closest friends, the [[Brothers Grimm]], with whom he shared a deep interest in popular legends and fairy tales, which he collected from his fellow soldiers and hoped to publish (selections of this collection were published posthumously).

Some years before, Haxthausen's friend Count [[Peter von Meyendorff]] (Petr Kazimirovich Meiendorf, 1796-18631796–1863), Russian ambassador to Berlin from 1839 to 1850, had suggested that he continue his research on Slavic communal institutions in Russia, and this now became possible thanks to an essay on tsarist land legislation that reached tsar [[Nicholas I of Russia|Nicholas I]], who invited him to travel to Russia to study the rural situation there. Though his voyage was supported by the crown, it was hindered by [[Alexander von Benckendorff|Count von Benckendorff]], head of the Russian [[Third Section of His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery|secret police]], who considered Haxthausen a potential threat to state security and had his activities monitored not only in Russia but after his return to Germany (fifteen years later he "was still being warned by his former hosts that he should break off his correspondence with [[Alexander Herzen]]").<ref>Starr, "Introduction," p. xix.</ref> However, after the spring thaw in 1843, Haxthausen left [[Moscow]] for six months of travel in the provinces, accompanied by his assistant, Dr. Heinrich Kosegarten, and a young Russian interpreter provided by the tsar. The group traveled to [[Novgorod]], the [[Vladimir, Russia|Vladimir]]-[[Yaroslavl]] region, [[Nizhny Novgorod]], [[Kazan]], and across the steppes to the [[Caucasus]] and [[Crimea]]; later in the summer he turned north again to [[Kiev]], [[Tula, Russia|Tula]], and Moscow. After some hesitation (caused partly by a feeling of betrayal by the [[Marquis de Custine]], who had written a wittily hostile report on his visit to Russia a few years previously), he was received cordially by Russian society, including [[Konstantin Aksakov]], Herzen, and [[Pyotr Chaadayev]]. Haxthausen returned to Germany in the spring of 1844 to write up his impressions.

The results were published in ''Studien über die innern Zustände, das Volksleben und insbesondere die ländlichen Einrichtungen Russlands'' (1847-1852, translated into English in drastically shortened form as ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=o6cMAAAAIAAJ The Russian Empire: Its People, Institutions and Resources]'', 1856). [[S. Frederick Starr]], in his introduction to a modern abridged translation, writes that "two themes resound throughout the ''Studies'': that Russian society still maintained in its peasant communes and other institutions the basis for a unity and cohesion within and among classes that was lacking in western Europe, and that this social cohesion was founded on hierarchical and patriarchal lines that embraced every individual in Russia from tsar to peasant."<ref>Starr, "Introduction," p. xxiv.</ref> Haxthausen's full account of the institutions of rural Russia was the first to bring the Russian commune into European social thought, and it was popular with both radicals (who found validation of the ideals of [[socialism]]) and conservatives (who approved of Haxthausen's emphasis on harmony within the framework of traditional society); it was well received everywhere but "liberal, industrial England, where it was met with skepticism, criticism, and outright derision."<ref>Starr, "Introduction," p. xxxi.</ref> But its greatest impact was in Russia, where intellectuals of every political persuasion read and discussed the ''Studies'', which played a significant role in establishing the framework of the [[Emancipation reform of 1861|liberation of the serfs]] and the other reforms of the early 1860s; Haxthausen wrote extensively on those reforms, corresponded with many Russian leaders and intellectuals, and in 1865 published a study of the means of introducing a constitution to Russia without destroying the sovereignty of the tsar. [[James H. Billington]] summarized his influence on Russians thus:<blockquote>

* ''Studien über die innern Zustände, das Volksleben und insbesondere die ländlichen Einrichtungen Russlands''. Hanover: Hahn, 1847-18521847–1852.

** ''Etudes sur la situation intérieure, la vie nationale et les institutions rurales de la Russie''. Hanover: Hahn, 1847-531847–53.

** ''Studies on the Interior of Russia''. Tr. Eleanore L.M. Schmidt; ed. and intro. S. Frederick Starr. University of Chicago Press, 1972: {{ISBN |0-226-32022-7}}.

* ''Transkaukasia: Andeutungen über das Familien- und Gemeindeleben und die socialen Verhältnisse einiger Völker zwischen dem Schwarzen und Kaspischen Meer – Reiseerinnerungen u.und ges.gesammelte Notizen''. Leipzig,: Brockhaus, 1856; repr. Hildesheim: Olms, 1985.

* August von Haxthausen, ''Studies on the Interior of Russia''. Tr. Eleanore L.M. Schmidt; ed. and intro. S. Frederick Starr. University of Chicago Press, 1972: {{ISBN |0-226-32022-7}}.

* {{Cite AmCyc|wstitle=Haxthausen, Franz Ludwig Marie August}}

[[Category:GermanCollectors writersof fairy tales]]

[[Category:KnightsWriters Hospitallerabout Russia]]