Obraz Rosji w indyjskiej literaturze podróżniczej XX wieku
The image of Russia in Indian travel writing of the 20th Century

Summary/Abstract: The article aims at presenting the overview of Indian travel writing on Russia in the 20th century and analysing the image of Russia emerging from Indian travelogues. Although most Indian travellers headed towards England, with the growth of anticolonial sentiment Russia gradually became a significant destination since the 1930s. Rabindranath Tagore was the most prominent among Indian guests and his Letters from Russia (1931) are considered travel writing classic, a reference point for all later Indian travellers to the country. Vast majority of the Indian travel accounts focus on the political, social and cultural changes in the country and set Russia as an example for India to follow, especially in the fields of education, culture or workers’ rights. They leave little space for any other aspects of the reality and unsurprisingly the fascination easily fades away with the collapse of the USSR.

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