Images of Lithuania in the Russian Journalism of the Era of Great Reforms

The article is devoted to ideas about Lithuania, its territory, political history and ethnic composition of the population, formed in the Russian journalism of the 1860s, which went down in history as the Era of the Great reforms. On the one hand, the perception of ancient Lithuanians as barbarians and historical Lithuania as a wild land has become even stronger. For example, the histirian N. I. Kostomarov, exploring pagan mythology, characterized the civilization of Lithuania as “primitive” and “rustic”. On the other hand, the Polish uprising of 1863—1864 forced Russian society to take a fresh look at the lands of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania. During this period, the idea of the history of the Lithuanian-Russian state as common past gained new relevance, and the images of Lithuania turned out to be closely connected with reflections on the ways of the future transformation of the Russian Empire. New approaches to the problems associated with the ethnocultural and religious diversity of the Western Regions and threats to the unity of the Empire were expressed in A. F. Hilferding’s journalistic and scientific work.