Abstract

In the short line of Russian writers who left valuable notations about Bessarabia and the Danubian Principalities there is also the name of Ivan Aksakov, an author almost unknown within the Romanian culture, but greatly beloved and appreciated by Russians; a poet and critic first, Ivan Aksakov also numbers among the most awesome newspapermen from the second half of the 19th century. Before anything else, our aim is to follow Aksakov’s eye over the Romanian border. However, we have enhanced not only the writer’s perspective on the Romanian society and mores, as attested by his letters, but also the marked biographical features of Aksakov’s writing which, making use of autobiographical elements, portrait techniques (owing much to the tradition of physiognomies), travel
accounts, and memoirs, bring to the fore the worldly man’s image.

Keywords: Ivan Aksakov, Russian writers, 19th century, Romanian society, notations about Bessarabia and the Danubian Principalities.