Il "negro" di Andrej Belyj. Il colonialismo europeo e la crisi della società occidentale nel simbolismo russo

The thesis deals with the representation of North African reality in some writings (letters, memoirs, notebooks…) by Andrej Belyj, who travelled in Tunisia and Egypt in 1911. Even if some of these works can be read through the lens of Belyj’s belonging to Russian symbolism or his affinity for anthroposophy, in this study the corpus is examined using a postcolonial approach. The aim of the thesis is to show several features of the author’s representation of the African world, features he shares with the orientalist European tradition and the Western way of thinking. This partially contrasts with Belyj’s negative evaluation of the colonizers and of modern European society in general. The thesis is divided into three chapters. The first one offers a survey of postcolonial studies and a history of the development of Russian-African relations (economic, political, cultural) from their origins (approximately during the 15th century) to the early 20th century. Moreover, an account of the common Russian perception of Africa between the end of the 19th and the beginning of 20th century is provided, thanks to articles, encyclopaedias’ entries and travel diaries all dating back to that period. In the second chapter Belyj’s representation of African reality is analysed in detail through a postcolonial reading; in particular, his images of the natural landscape, of the modern and hybrid Oriental metropolises and of the inhabitants are investigated. Relying also on semiotic studies, the third chapter reflects upon the cultural implications of Belyj’s writings, as well as upon the author’s perspective on European colonizers and the relationships between different culture (European, Arabic and Central African). In this scheme, Russia does not always belong to Europe for many reasons. In the end, while Europe is destined to death at the hands of its own colonies, which in a near future will invade the West, Russia maintains – and will always maintain – its independence and true essence