Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Setting the stage -- 2. Orientalism Russian style; The concept of orientalism: Western European version; Russian national identity and Russian orientalism -- 3. Overview of the Russian travelogues and their authors; Pre-Nineteenth Century Russian travelogues about Iran; The main features of the Russian travelogues about Iran in the Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries; The authors of the travelogues -- 4. The travelers' missions in Iran; Russian military aims and activities in Iran; Russian diplomacy in Iran; Russian emigrants in Iran; Russian trade in Iran -- 5. The travelers' self-representation vis-à-vis the Oriental 'other' and the British 'self' -- 6. The 'travelees': representation of Iran and her people by the Russian travelers; 'Power of the gaze'; The 'travelees': manners and morals -- 7. The 'travelees': education, culture and society; Iran as 'a country of ruins' -- 8. Islam as perceived by the Russian travelers -- 9. Gender and ethnicity; Iranian women and prosaic harems; The travelers' religious and ethnic preferences -- 10. Travelers and travelees; Russians through Iranian eyes as imagined by the travelers (discourse with themselves); 'Anti-romanticism' -- Conclusion -- Appendices -- Map: Iran before World War I -- Travelogues -- What is a travelogue? -- Classification of travelogues -- The popularity of travelogues.