Melodramatizing Russia.

The article examines four western melodramas that represent the culture and national identity of Russia. The melodramas include "The Outcast's Daughter," by Guilbert de Pixérécourt, "The North Star," by Giacomo Meyerbeer, "Vera/The Nihilist," by Oscar Wilde and "Fédora," by Victorien Sardou. It discusses how the Russian cultural identity could be negotiated through melodrama. It tackles the representation of political nihilism in the melodramas by Wilde and Sardou.