Russia and the Great Exhibition of 1851: Representations, perceptions, and a missed opportunity

London's Great Exhibition of 1851 was a unique opportunity for Europeans to evaluate and reassess the industrial and technological progress of the continent's leading military power, the Russian Empire. Held at a time of widespread Russophobia, when many Europeans viewed Russia as a backward, semi-Asiatic despotism whose enormous army was a threat to its neighbors, the exhibition offered Russia the chance to improve its international image by presenting its achievements in the arts, industry, and agriculture. Russia's showing at the Great Exhibition did little, however, to refute the image of a vast despotism where impoverished serfs toiled for the pleasure of a few, for its sumptuous exhibits of malachite, silver, furniture, and enormous objets d'art simply confirmed existing stereotypes. Press coverage often orientalized Russia, criticized it for exhibiting little in the way of machinery or advanced technology, and largely ignored its modest displays of weaponry, but the poor showing of Russian industry did not dim its military reputation. In Russia, European admiration for its luxury products bolstered national pride, but Russians largely ignored criticism of their industry and drew few conclusions for improving it from the exhibition. The industrial revolution, the consequences of which were exhibited at the Crystal Palace, had produced technological advances that fundamentally altered the basis of military power, yet neither Russian nor foreign observers appeared to grasp this. In short, despite its celebration of advanced technology, mass-production, and economic competition, the Great Exhibition had little impact on prevailing assumptions about Russian power. It was a missed opportunity to assess the strategic implications of the technology it showcased, for the received wisdom proved to be stronger than the evidence on display.