Das russische Element im Werk von Thomas Mann

This study is an initial attempt to investigate the works of Thomas Mann in connection with his interest in Russia and Russian culture. It gives the brief survey of the development of European spirit at the turn of the 19th and the 20th centuries and also explores in detail the trends that were related to the intellectual perception of Russia at that time. Works of Thomas Mann are put in this context, whereas the emphasis is put on crucial works on which the changes of his attitude to Russian element within the European culture context are demonstrated. This study is specifically concerned with the changes of perception of Leo Tolstoy, which is understood as synecdoche of Mann's changes of attitude to Russian culture in general. The image of Russia in Mann's works is divided into three parts according to development stages: apolitical stage, political stage, and depoliticized stage.