The case studied in this chapter deals with the social sphere located between the official cosmopolitanism promoted by the court and rivalries and tensions characteristic of professional corporations. The critical reappraisal of interactions between foreigners and local elites nuances the opposition between aristocratic cosmopolitanism and nascent nationalism—an opposition that informs social and cultural histories of the Russian nobility (Greenfeld 1990). How did Russian nobles feel about their foreign peers who had to leave their country and to abandon property (and rent), and who came to Russia to enjoy ranks, pensions, and honors dispensed by the imperial court? Did the local elite pride itself on its new capacity as the host offering refuge to those who, until recently, pretended to be the role model of the civilized world? These questions will guide my essay in the social history of perceptions of Europeans among Russian elites.