A review of the literary-epistolary anthology In France with Turgenev [S Turgenevym vo Frantsii], the article undertakes a problem analysis of its content, shedding a new light on Turgenev’s relationship with French authors, the scale of his personality, and the relevance of his cultural mission. Included in the work’s title, the idea of universal responsiveness was introduced to the daily cultural vocabulary by F. Dostoevsky and is viewed here in its relation to the concepts of cosmopolitanism, national identity, and cultural universalism. Turgenev’s universal responsiveness is treated as an opposing phenomenon to Russian messianism, namely, it is considered to combine national uniqueness with the willingness and ability to absorb world culture and become an integral part of it. It was Turgenev who not only succeeded in mediating between Western European and Russian culture, but also embodied pan-European cultural unity. While commonly recognized and repeatedly voiced by French cultural fi   res, this achievement remains little known and appreciated in Russia.