Saratov residents on the pages of “My memoires” by prince S.M. Volkonsky (notes of a reader-archivist)

Abstract

Over the past three decades, the works by Russian émigré Prince S.M. Volkonsky, the grandson of the Decembrist, one of the outstanding figures of Russian culture and an heir to European cultural traditions, has become well known in his homeland. The book “My Memoirs,” written by Volkonsky in Soviet Russia but published in emigration, is rightfully considered to be the pinnacle of Russian memoirs. A rich panorama of life over half a century is presented in his work, among other things, through the prince’s numerous encounters with a variety of people – both from his circle and those completely alien to him. The author of the article identifies from Volkonsky’s narrative the characters that were associated with one of the largest cities on the Volga River – Saratov. Traces of those people over the century have not been lost in archival and museum documents, bearing witness to the very existence of the particular Saratov residents. The milestones of their destinies – as the wanderers in time and space (and that was the way Volkonsky liked to portray them) – continue to be confirmed in the works of present-day researchers. The governor of Saratov, a talented musician-ascetic, a conservative teacher-translator and a Bolshevik, a “herald of the new world” – the images of those people appear on the pages of Volkonsky’s memoirs only once, occasionally. But they are remembered thanks to the memory of the one who passed them down for us.