Chapter 9
The Leviathan and the woods
Translating forestry policies under Peter I of Russia
The formidable pace of reforms conducted by
Peter I of Russia (1672–1725) caused a genuine struggle to construct an
administrative language that would facilitate the sovereign power and collective
actions. Peter’s politics of neologisms shaped national and cultural identity, and
induced pedagogical and institutional discussions. My chapter examines how the
state-supported procedures of translation helped build the legal frameworks of early
Russian environmentalism. Translation is considered here as the process of
translating legislation about forestry matters from German into Russian, but also as
a transformation of practical knowledge about forestry according to foreign
patterns. I argue that both processes could be analysed as a complex multifarious
translation of texts and practices, and examine their role in administering the
environmental policies of the early Russian Empire.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Peter’s Verwaltungssprache
- 3.The forestry negotiations of Peter I
- 4.The Waldmeisterschaft
- 5.Conclusion
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Notes
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References