Americans on the Yaroslavl region (second half of XIX – early XX centuries)

The article analyzes materials about the Yaroslavl region, written by the representatives of the United States and pub-lished in the second half of XIX – early XX centuries, including personal travel experiences of the Americans who visit-ed the region. The first printed reports about Yaroslavl published on the American continent appeared in the middle of the 19th century. These publications differ in the degree of the authors’ awareness, their sources and style. What makes the materials collected in the article especially expressive is the sharp contrast in their content – from a reserved infor-mational reference book to a honeymoon diary and eye-witness notes of the pre-revolutionary situation in Yaroslavl in September 1917. The information provided by the Americans is of historical as well as cultural interest, and is analyzed in the interrelationship of the two perspectives. It is worth mentioning that travel notes, regardless of the individual characteristics of the author's text, are a reflection of how elements of different cultures meet, including education, art, politics, customs, everyday life habits, etc. Consequently, along with the historical aspect, the materials described serve as a means of contact between cultures, which provides opportunities to study the mutual perception of different socie-ties. Particular attention is paid to the comparative analysis of the data under consideration. In addition, the article examines the socio-cultural nature of the information contained in the foreigners' comments, which contributes to a deeper study of human activity at a certain period in history. Consequently, the multifaceted communicative interac-tion of cultures allows for a more complete and vivid characterization of the social scene at a certain point in history.