"Old Russia is dying out and there are fewer and fewer of us left." Letters from N. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko to E. A. Lyatsky 1933-1934

Document publication

doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2025-3-839-856

For citation

Mikhalchenko, Sergey I., Tkachenko, Elena E., Pchelenok, Anna V. (2025). "Old Russia is dying out and there are fewer and fewer of us." Letters from N. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko to E. A. Lyatsky 1933-1934, Herald of an Archivist, no. 3, pp. 839-856, doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2025-3-839-856

Mikhalchenko, Sergey I., Tkachenko, Elena E., Pchelenok, Anna V., Bryansk State University named after Academician I. G. Petrovsky, Bryansk, Russia

"Old Russia is dying out and there are fewer and fewer of us left." Letters from N. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko to E. A. Lyatsky 1933-1934

Abstract

Three letters from the Russian writer Vasily Ivanovich Nemirovich-Danchenko, an emigrant of the "first wave", to the ethnographer, literary critic and historian, professor of Charles University in Prague Evgeny Alexandrovich Lyatsky are published. The letters date back to the mid-1930s and are published based on handwritten originals kept in the E. A. Lyatsky Foundation in the Literary Archive of the Museum of National Literature in Prague (Liter?rn? arch?v Pam?tn?hu N?rodn?ho P?semnictvi v Praze). E. A. Lyatsky was a professor of Russian literature at Charles University in 1922-1939, and often gave public lectures. He did not abandon his scientific activities in emigration. The letters cover several important topics. Firstly, these are autobiographical sketches of the literary and private life of N. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko. Despite his advanced age, he was actively engaged in literary activity. Thus, the writer informs the addressee about three stories written by him and already published in emigrant newspapers - the Parisian "Latest News" and the Riga "Segodnya" - as well as translations of his novels in Italy. Complains about the inattention to his writings in Yugoslavia, which seemed friendly to Russian emigration. The letters tell about the peculiarities of the financial situation of the writer, who receives a pension and sometimes other special payments from the Bulgarian authorities who favored him. At the same time, payments under the so-called "Russian Action" of the Czechoslovak government were reduced to a minimum. An important part of the letters is information about the situation of Russian emigration in Europe. N. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko bitterly notes both the physical extinction of emigrants and the material degradation of those who remain alive. At the same time, he also notes the successes of representatives of the emigrant culture – E. A. Lyatsky, S. I. Varshavsky, D. S. Merezhkovsky, and Z. N. Gippius mention the popularity of public appearances by the leader of the Young Russians, A. L. Kazem-Bek. At the same time, he cannot hide his skepticism towards the Eurasians in general, and towards their leader P. N. Savitsky in particular. The reaction of the author of the letters to the socio-political realities is also important, both international (the beginning of Nazi rule in Germany) and domestic (the collapse of the former pariah of the People's Socialists). The letters are written in a vivid literary style, showing the unfading activity of N. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko at the age of almost ninety. The published letters undoubtedly once again show the value of the epistolary heritage as a historical source, especially for studying those events, other sources for which there is insufficient research.

Keywords

Letters of scientists, Literary Archive of the Museum of National Literature in Prague, Russian emigration, E. A. Lyatsky, N. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko.

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About authors

Mikhalchenko Sergey I., Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Bryansk State University named after Academician I. G. Petrovsky, Department of Philosophy, History and Political Science, Head of the Department, Bryansk, Russian Federation, +7-483-258-05-31, ext.12-45, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

ORCID 0000-0002-6809-9305

Tkachenko Elena V., Candidate of Historical Sciences, Bryansk State University named after Academician I. G. Petrovsky, Faculty of Law, Dean of the Faculty, Bryansk, Russian Federation, +7-483-258-05-16, ext.14-14, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

ORCID ID: 0000-0002-8973-745X

Pchelenok Anna V., Bryansk State University named after Academician I. G. Petrovsky, Center for Slavic Studies, Junior Researcher, Bryansk, Russian Federation, +7-483-258-05-20, ext.12-40, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

ORCID 0009-0008-3215-1846

Grant information

The article was prepared with the financial support of the Russian Science Foundation grant, project No. 24-28-00505 "Epistolary complexes of the Russian intellectual abroad of 1920-1940 in the archives of Slovenia and the Czech Republic", https://rscf ru/project/24-28-00505

The article was received in the editorial office on 12.01.2025, recommended for publication on 20.06.2024.