Аннотация:The paper is concerned with Russian perceptions of Englishness; specifically, with the XIX century popularity of English values and attitudes among Russia’s educated classes; next, with the irresistible fascination that in the last 20 years Britain in general and London in particular seem to exercise over the minds and souls of many wealthy Russians (the so-called oligarchs and criminal elements excluded), and, thirdly, with the role of English literature ( G.K. Chesterton, J.R.R. Tolkien, K.S. Lewis) in the Russian orthodox religious revival in the last decade of the previous millennium. While the first two phenomena may be put down to the wish to live comfortably among civilized people, the third one does not fit into the pattern and requires special explanation. We seek to show that the underlying reasons are rooted in the spiritual build-up of the nations: the English came to be perceived as the people in certain respects closer to the ideal personality image, still existing in the collective Russian psyche. In search for evidence we will consider Anglo-Saxon Christianity, philosophical nominalism of Roger Bacon and William of Ockham and the Reformation, the choice being determined by the existing parallels in the Russian spiritual history.