Turgenev’s literary circle in the social and cultural life of Russia at the turn of the 18th – 19th centuries

The article is devoted to the study of literary and socio-cultural processes of Russian society at the turn of the 18th - 19th centuries. The author focuses on the history of Turgenev's literary circle (late 18th - early 19th centuries). The reasons for the creation of this literary society, its directions, features and results of its activities are studied. The British poetic tradition with its cult of freedom, respect for the individual and privacy turned out to be the most consonant with the new emerging demands of Russian social and cultural life at the beginning of the 19th century. The formation of the Russian nation and national self-awareness based on the creation of a national culture was considered by part of the domestic noble intelligentsia of the early 19th century as the most promising historical path for Russia.