关键词: 俄国文学, 印度形象, 《印度王国的传说》, 《三海旅行记》, 列夫·托尔斯泰

Abstract: Depictions of India in Russian literature began to appear after the Christianization of Rus’. From ancient times to the present day, the mystical aura surrounding India rendered it a subject of sustained fascination and literary representation among Russian writers. Their imagined and constructed portrayals of India, shaped by their own cultural needs, also served as a projection and reflection of the Russian national worldview and cosmology. In Old Rus’ literature, India was often portrayed as a distant land of wealth, wonder, piety, and wisdom. From the 15th century onward, with the increase of Russian-India exchanges, the “myth of India” gradually faded. By the 19th century, Russian writers generally adopted a more objective and rational perspective toward India, with figures such as Leo Tolstoy even showing concern for issues like British colonial rule over India. From the 10th to the 19th centuries, the image of India in Russian literary discourse underwent a process of disenchantment, shifting from an earthly paradise to a impoverished British colony. This transformation was not only closely related to the binary oppositional logic of Russian cultural thought, but also shaped by the reflections of Russia’s educated elites on social realities and issues of national identity.

Key words: Russian literature, the image of India, The Tale of the Indian Kingdom, Travels Beyond Three Seas, Leo Tolstoy