Kunstkamera, St. Petersburg, RUSSIA (other) - Locating Tiki

B bigbrotiki Tiki Socialite Tiki Island, above the Silverlake Joined: Mar 25, 2002 Posts: 11621	B bigbrotiki Posted posted on Sun, Sep 7, 2008 3:15 AM In further research, I found this anecdote, illustrating that the Utopian dream of finding a place where all men were equal, (which later led to the rise of communism) inspired some Russians to seek Polynesian shores: "Thus, in the middle of the 19th century a few people from the Saint-Petersburg University's secret youth revolutionary groups announced campaigns in order to collect an adequate sum of money to reach the shore of a blessed island in the Pacific Ocean and to set up a colony there. But, as is likely to happen in cases like these, the money (not a big sum though) was stolen by the swindlers who failed the campaigns. The campaigns were held three times by a few enthusiastic students of Saint-Petersburg University who forgot all about their ideas when they got socially mature. Here, only one outstanding example can be named. There was a man in the 1850s that graduated from Saint Petersburg University but did not give up his wish to build up a colony of people of equal rights somewhere in the Pacific. He sold all his property and gave up half of his money to the distinguished Russian writers and philosophers who simultaneously lead the so-called revolutionary groups in Russia and abroad. Then the noble man (his name was Pavel Bakhmetev, though it does not matter much) gathered about five thousand votes (only votes, not money) of volunteers who were eager to leave with him for an island in the South Pacific to establish a colony there. Consequently, Bakhmetev took the rest of his money and sailed off to New Zealand. He found the country inappropriate for his colony as it was already inhabited by Europeans who were not very familiar with the ideas of Rousseau and Diderot. From New Zealand the noble Russian man sailed to the Marquesas Islands for the reason that they were less populated by the white people (those were the French, few in number). On his way the ideologically convinced man may have been robbed and murdered, because there have been no mentions of his adventures since." [ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2008-09-07 03:20 ]

In further research, I found this anecdote, illustrating that the Utopian dream of finding a place where all men were equal, (which later led to the rise of communism) inspired some Russians to seek Polynesian shores:

"Thus, in the middle of the 19th century a few people from the Saint-Petersburg University's secret youth revolutionary groups announced campaigns in order to collect an adequate sum of money to reach the shore of a blessed island in the Pacific Ocean and to set up a colony there. But, as is likely to happen in cases like these, the money (not a big sum though) was stolen by the swindlers who failed the campaigns. The campaigns were held three times by a few enthusiastic students of Saint-Petersburg University who forgot all about their ideas when they got socially mature.

Here, only one outstanding example can be named. There was a man in the 1850s that graduated from Saint Petersburg University but did not give up his wish to build up a colony of people of equal rights somewhere in the Pacific. He sold all his property and gave up half of his money to the distinguished Russian writers and philosophers who simultaneously lead the so-called revolutionary groups in Russia and abroad. Then the noble man (his name was Pavel Bakhmetev, though it does not matter much) gathered about five thousand votes (only votes, not money) of volunteers who were eager to leave with him for an island in the South Pacific to establish a colony there. Consequently, Bakhmetev took the rest of his money and sailed off to New Zealand. He found the country inappropriate for his colony as it was already inhabited by Europeans who were not very familiar with the ideas of Rousseau and Diderot. From New Zealand the noble Russian man sailed to the Marquesas Islands for the reason that they were less populated by the white people (those were the French, few in number). On his way the ideologically convinced man may have been robbed and murdered, because there have been no mentions of his adventures since."

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2008-09-07 03:20 ]

Post #406408 by bigbrotiki on Sun, Sep 7, 2008 3:15 AM