Part II. THE IMPERIAL MYTH IN ARTISTIC TEXTS

Abstract

Mikhail Dolbilov has described the practice of "divining the imperial will" (ugadyvat' vysochaishuiu voliu), which all tsar's ministers and advisors endeavored to master in the nineteenth century. "Divining the imperial will" could also involve subtle manipulation, planting ideas in the tsar's mind while making him believe they were his own (