Two centuries of the Russian classics Two centuries of the Russian classics 2686-7494 IWL RAS https://doi.org/10.22455/2686-7494-2026-8-3-256-283 Research Article Articles The Multifaceted Author’s Perspective in A. N. Muravyov’s Book “Georgia and Armenia” Bogdanova Tatiana A. red@rusklassika.ru 25 09 2026 8 3 256 283 A. N. Muravyov Metropolitan Filaret (Drozdov) Georgian Orthodox Church Armenian Apostolic Church Abkhazian Orthodox Diocese lyrical hero Christian writer church historian official Copyright © 2026, IWL RAS 2026 In “Georgia and Armenia,” unlike any other work by A. N. Muravyov, the author emerges as a traveler, pilgrim, historian, and Foreign Ministry official. The author focuses primarily on two aspects of the narrative: the historical and the diplomatic. As a historian, Muravyov demonstrates to a deep personal empathy with Christian antiquities and a desire to convey this to the reader. The information collected by Muravyov and presented in the book is drawn from a variety of sources: from manuscripts to oral traditions and conversations with elders on the history and current state of monasteries. Muravyov described the interiors of the churches of the two oldest Christian denominations in the Christian world, inspected approximately fifty monasteries in Georgia and Armenia, their sacristies, and archives. The manuscript was reviewed by Metropolitan Filaret (Drozdov), who made comments both in the text and in letters. The article proceeds from the assumption that the trip to the regions that had recently become part of the Russian Empire was also part of the “unofficial side” of Muravyov’s service in the Asian Department as a Special Assignment Officer of the 5th class. 1. Glubokovskii, N. N. Russkaia bogoslovskaia nauka v ee istoricheskom razvitii i noveishem sostoianii [Russian Theological Science in Its Historical Development and Recent State]. Warsaw, Sinodal’naia tipografia Publ., 1928. 115 p. (In Russ.) 2. Smirnova, I. Iu. “Diplomaticheskoe protivostoianie Rossii i Velikobritanii na Blizhnem Vostoke (1830–1850 gg.): po materialam analiticheskogo obzora barona N. E. Tornau” [“The Diplomatic Confrontation between Russia and Great Britain in the Middle East (1830–1850): Based on the Analytical Review by Baron N. E. Tornau”]. Khristianstvo na Blizhnem Vostoke, no. 1, 2018, pp. 41–51. (In Russ.) 3. Ukhtomskii, A. A. Dominanta [Dominant]. St. Petersburg, Piter Publ., 2002. 448 p. (In Russ.)