The Making of Tourism Spaces at the Russian Black Sea Coast: Narrative and Visual Representations of Sights in Travel Guides at the End of XIXth- Beginning of the XXth Centuries

The study deals with the process of emergence of the tourism in the Russian Empire and focused on a visual pattern in the making of tourist places and constructing heritage. Being an essential part of mass printed culture, travel guidebooks were in demand during late imperial period. They were produced and replicated intensively and circulated widely. Photography of attractive spots of the Russian Black sea coast, which was printed in guidebooks in 1880s - 1910s, formed the empirical basis of this research along with narrative descriptions of the region. The paper has examined how imaginary geographies of tourist spaces were constructed, how such visual and narrative representations were provided through the itineraries and changed from 1870s-1917. Moreover, the study is focused on process of conversion of historical, cultural and natural heritages into famous tourist attractions. Analysis was made by using theoretical and methodological pattern of spatial history and the scientific fields dealing with visual culture. This research is anticipated to contribute to understanding of structural changes in Russian society of modern era (turn of the XIXth- XXth centuries) through analyzing of spatial representations of Black sea coast.