Postcolonial Theory and Travel Writing: The View From Russia

This article is a critical overview of the foundational works of postcolonial theory, including "the classics" (Edward Said, Mary Louise Pratt, Homi K. Bhabha) as well as the latest monographs and collections of articles. The fundamental positions of postcolonialism are broken down from the point of view of their ease of use for analyzing the poetics of travel writing. The focus of the article is the question of why postcolonial criticism almost never touches upon subjects connected to the Russian Empire and Soviet Russia. The author does not see this omission as accidental. The Russian form of continental colonialism is complex and does not always fit within the general framework of postcolonialism. The introduction of Russian subjects into the sphere of postcolonial criticism may substantially expand its theoretical significance.