摘要：The article provides an analysis of the protocol and communication aspects of the diplomatic corps of Saint Petersburg contacts with the famous Russian man of letters and back then ex-member of the foreign service Alexander Pushkin in late 1829 – early 1830. Using the materials of Russian, French, Spanish and Neapolitan foreign policy archives alongside other documental sources, as well as specialized literature, with recourse to the prosopographic method, the author analyses the impact of high ranking diplomats’ interaction with Pushkin on their professional activities. The research outlines that many diplomats, especially ambassadors, tended to regard Pushkin not just as a prominent culture figure, but also and rather as a valuable source of information regarding Russian affairs, both domestic and foreign. Therefore, in many cases they might have been the initiators of such contacts conducive to a mutually beneficial exchange of insights. While the heads of diplomatic missions sometimes referred in dispatches to their Russian counterpart, the latter not only took part in the high society protocol events they invited him to, but also managed to interview them on some issues important to him. The analysis looks into the details of this two-way information exchange, while comparing and collating the respective career paths of diplomatic corps members. It reveals that most of them shared certain political stances and ethical values, most importantly moderate sympathies for the Russian State and Emperor, which often diverged from the foreign policy course of the governments they represented. Such a group-uniting factor, in its turn, may be regarded as to a considerable extent determined by their previous diplomatic experience, marriages and personal background. The author concludes that the combination of these features shaped a unique atmosphere within a large fraction of the Saint Petersburg international diplomatic community, Pushkin can be considered in a large sense a part of, on the verge of the 1830s.
