A Russian Paints America presents the first complete English translation of Svin'in's fascinating memoir. Thirty-one original watercolours complement his provocative views on topics such as slavery, religion, politics, and the fine arts. Introductory essays by Marina Swoboda and William Whisenhunt examine Russian-American relations, consider Svin'in's life and particular role in Russian history, and set his work in the context of the genre of picturesque travel - Svin'in clearly did not set out to produce a scholarly account of the United States but a work of literature, at a time when Russian literary language was in its earliest stages of development.

Marina Swoboda, co-editor of Old Testament Apocrypha in the Slavonic Tradition, is the author of numerous articles in the field of early Russian literature and cultural history.William Benton Whisenhunt, professor of history, College of DuPage, is the author of In Search of Legality: Mikhail M. Speranskii and the Codification of Russian Law and co-editor of Russian and Soviet History: From the Time of the Troubles to the Collapse of the Soviet Union.

Pavel P. Svin'in's profile page

Marina Swoboda's profile page

William Benton Whisenhunt, professor of history, College of DuPage, is the author of In Search of Legality: Mikhail M. Speranskii and the Codification of Russian Law and co-editor of Russian and Soviet History: From the Time of the Troubles to the Collapse of the Soviet Union.

William Whisenhunt's profile page