Abstract

The article deals with the Balkan-related aspects of the life of A.A. Bashmakov, the Russian legal scholar, publicist and prominent figure of the Pan-Slavic movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It covers his early years since the 1880s until 1913 when he resigned from civil service. The main attention is paid to A.A. Bashmakov’s socio-political activity and his Balkan journeys, i. e. to the practical side of his activities related to the Slavic issue. The circumstances of his stay in Macedonia and Northern Albania are described in detail; the author also touches upon his works based on the results of his journeys (travel notes, articles, speeches, periodical feuilletons, books and collected papers) and his stance on the Eastern question. According to A.A. Bashmakov, a Slavic-oriented Russian foreign policy should have helped maintain the country’s undeniable impact on international affairs. Scarcely researched archival and published materials are involved in the study. Academic novelty of the work is due to approaching large-scale, but unstudied activities of such a prominent figure as A.A. Bashmakov, first of all, analyzing his Balkan sphere of interests which has not yet been dealt with in historiography. The article shows all the diversity of A.A. Bashmakov’s undertakings in this area, studies his motivation, clarifies a number of issues regarding his publishing and academic work and corrects historiographic fallacies. A number of cases show that, while traveling to unstable regions of the Ottoman Empire, A.A. Bashmakov acted independently and contrary to the prevailing opinion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, risking his own career. The article argues that his resignation from civil service was determined by his public criticism of Russian diplomacy during the First Balkan War.