The focus of the study is E.V. Zharkikh - the process of formation and evolution of national images of Germany and the Germans who reigned in Russian society on the eve of the First World War. Based on a thorough analysis of Russian journalistic literature and periodical materials of the late XIX - early XX centuries. recreated the image of Germany and the German people, which prevailed in the minds of the Russian educational society. The evolution of the attitude of Russians towards Germany has been traced.