Johann Werner Paus’s Path to Russia: Common Routes of European Intellectuals in the Late Seventeenth–Early Eighteenth Centuries

This article traces the travel routes taken by those European intellectuals, diplomats, and specialists who were recruited for Russian royal service during the Great Northern War. These civilians often had to choose their own routes and usually traveled alone or with a few traveling companions, at times without armed escort. The article reveals the conditions of such voyages and compares several selected routes to determine whether they were typical or unique. The basis of the article is the travel diary kept by Johann Werner Paus during his journey from Saxony to Moscow in 1701‒1702. This as-yet-unpublished primary source provides details about the “Lithuanian” route, which, the authors argue, was typical, but associated with great risks, especially during wartime.