Manon de Courten

Overview of the Solov'ev archives in Moscow and St-Petersburg and of the working conditions in these institutions.

These data are based on a quick stay in archives in 1998 and have not been checked since then.
They thus do not have the ambition of being exhaustive, neither fully precise.

1. Rossijskij Gosudarstvennyj Arkhiv Literatury i Iskusstva (RGALI)
(Moskow, ul. Vyborgskaja 3, k.2. Metro "Vodnyj Stadion". Tel: 159.73.86; 159.76.85. Dir.: Natalija Borisovna Volkova)
a) Present state of the archive and working conditions: From August 1st, the archive will be closed till September 10th 1998. It might stay closed for a longer period; according to the sayings of the zam-director, the salaries are not being paid to the employees nor even to the milicionery staying at the entrance. For this reason and other ones "coming from above", it is still uncertain when and whether the archive will be open again in normal conditions.
Concerning the work itself, keep in mind that you may not use your computer, and that you may not order more than a modest amount of photocopies (20 copies for 8 US dollars. For more, it gets scandalously expensive. The alleged reason for that is that the archive is ready to offer its full services exclusively on the basis of a business contract concluded with a society or an institution. It is a matter of money. It is quite unpleasant to hear business language when speaking of archive documents...

b)Description of the Vl. Solov'ev archive: "Fond Vladimira S. Solov'eva, N. 446, opisi 1-3".
Overview: according to the foreword to the first inventary, the fund was created on the basis of the considerable number of documents which Sergej M. Solov'ev (Vladimir's nephew, who wrote his biography) had, and was later enlarged by donations of various people.
It contains mainly VS's autographs of works and articles, drafts of works, bibliographical notes, verses, letters written by him as well as sent to him, and finally some documents such as letters of his brother Mikhail and verses written by his other brother Vsevolod.
I give below a more precise description of the fund. Often it remains vague because the catalogue does give more information about the documents, and because the access to the manuscripts was limited. It means also that some of these documents may be published. In the list below, I indicate precise elements whenever it is possible, such as VS's epistolary correspondents, hoping it may be of some use to you. Question marks stand where the catalogue data (handwritten) was difficult to decipher.

Opis' 1:
- documents of biographical interest (diploms, certificates, etc.)
- VS' manuscripts: verses, philosophical and religious works, extracts of L'idee russe, carnets de notes from the years '80 (70 sheets), drafts of speeches and articles.
- VS's letters to : Vladislavev M. M. (1874-1880, , 4 letters, 8 sheets), Gezen V. A. (1892, 1letter, 1 sh.), Gec F. B. (1881-1896, 36 l., 72 sh.), Grinevskaja I. A. (not dated, 1 sh.), Martynova S. M. (from 1892 onwards, 3 l., 13 sh.), Pogoz?eva N. E. (1891, 1 l., 2 sh.), C�ernis?evskaja E. M. (April 1900, sheets not indicated).
- letters to VS from: I. S. Aksakov ( from 18.12.1882 onwards, 3 l., 3 sh., on microfilm).
- materials of his close relatives, such as his brothers Mikhail (letters, among others sent to Lopatine in 1878-1879, 8 sheets) and Vsevolod (verses and letters), VS's father (scarce autographs), and his nephew (novel, drafts)
- on VS: an article of F.B. Gec.

Opis' 2:
- VS's manuscripts: Lekcii po filosofii 1875-1882 (59 sh.), articles and speeches, autograph of Nacional'nyj vopros, "O poddel'nom dobre" (1900, 2 sh.), translation from Plato, isolated sheets on religious, moral, philosophical matters (1874, 1880-1900, 37 sh.), drafts of an article on metaphysics (years '80, 104 sh.), copy book with extracts of philosophical works of M. Routh, Stabalakovic? [?], Renan and others on religious matters (67 sh.), correction of article proofs.
- VS's letters to: the Tsar Aleksandr III (1890, 4 sh.), his brother Mikhail (1880-1890, 39 l., 84 sh.), S�tein V.I. (7.10.1887, 1 l., 1 sh.)
- letters to VS from: Gezen V. A. (1.9.1892, 1 l., 2 sh.), Gurevic? Ljubov' Ja. (24.4.-25.8.1892, number of letters not indicated, 5 sh.), Dillon E. M. (4-23.1 1892, 2 l., 10 sh.), Efimovskaja E. (6.11.1892-10.1.1893, number of letters not indicated, 18 sh.), Z�ukovskij P. V. (not dated, 1 l., 2 sh.), Segen (7.4.1884, 1l., 2 sh.), Jondini de Quarengi (9.2.1886-26.12.1891, 2 l., 7 sh.), Golenis?c?ev(a)-Kutuzov(a) A. (26.11.1885, 1 l., 6 sh.), Kulis?era (?) R. (16-18.8. 1886, 2 l., 6 sh.), Leskov N.S. (14.5.-9.10.1892, 3 l., 7 sh., on microfilm), Loiseau (12.7.1892, 1 l., 1 sh.), Musin-Pus?kina V. (20.10 1891), Rozanov V. V. (1893,1 l., 5 sh.), Strakhov N. N. (13.11.1885-11.2.1887, 2 l., 7 sh.), Stasjulevic? M. M. (1886-1896, 12 l., 20 sh.), Samarin D.K. (17-18.12.1997, 1 l., 4 sh.), Savickij A. K. (not dated, 1 sh.), Schulz-Gaweniz (?), Sollogub F. L. (before 1890, 1 l., 6 sh.), Tavernier (years '80, 3 l., 8 sh.), Tolstaja T. L. (from 1892 onward, , 4 l., 10 sh.), Trubeckoj S. N. (from 6.12.1890 onward, 2 l., 5 sh.), Farmakovskaja V., Khitrovo S., letters without identified author.
- material collected by VS: official documents (circulars, resolutions, letters of politicians on sects and heretics (15 sh.), press article on castrated peasant boy verses (?!), an article on Fet, an article on religion (the authors of the three documents are not mentioned), a copy book with extracts of French philosophical texts (121 sh.), pictures.

Opis' 3:
- verses by VS
- VS's letters to Petrovskij A.G. [?] (1890-1900, number of letters not indicated, 3 sh.)

2. Rossijskaja Nacional'naja Biblioteka
(St-Petersburg, pl. Ostrovskogo. Metro: "Gostinyj Dvor". Tel: 310.28.56. Dir.: Vladimir Zaicev)
a) Present state of the archive and working conditions: so far I know, there is no threaten of closing. The working conditions are far easier than the previously described institution... You can bring your computer (using your own battery; and after getting the approval of the Zavedujus?c?ij, of course; working there should not be exageratedly simplified) and make photocopies of documents.

b) Description of the archive: "Fond Vl. Solov'eva, N. 718)
It contains mainly documents possessed formely by the editor of VS's "Sobranie Soc?inenij", E. Radlov; later, other donations have been added to the fund. The documents fall into three categories: material of biographical interest, autograph of his works, letters from VS and sent to him.
- material of biographical interest: official documents, short autobiography by VS.
- autographs: Voskresnye Pis'ma, Vizantija i Rossija, Oprovdanie Dobra [?], Osnovy khristianstva, necrological articles and speeches.
- VS's letters to: Vyrypaev P. (March 1881, 16.1889, another not dated, 5 sh.), Ljubimov N. and others ( to every correspondent only one letter).
- letters to VS (about 50 documents). Most often, there is in this archive only one letter from the correspondents to VS. However, as we seldom have the opportunity to read leters addresses to Solov'ev, I indicate below the name of these correspondents and whenever possible the date of the letters: they come from: Borodin D.I. (not dated, 2 sh.), Burenin V.P. (not dated, 1 sh.), Budgett-Meaklin L. (in English, 3.10. 1896, 2 sheets), Velic?ki (24.5.1895, 4 sh.), Gajdeburov V P. (3.12.1896, 2 sh.), Gec F. (May-July 1891, 18 sh.), Gradovskij G.K. (28.7.1891, 1 sh.) Grefe A. (18.6.1891, 2 sh.), Grot N. Ja. (6.8.1891, 11.5.1897, 6 sh.), Ermolov A.S. (not dated, 2 sh.), Karcev A.A. (3.11.1894, 2 sh.), de Malijary P. (13.2.1894, 6 sh.), Rozanov (not dated, 6 l., 7 sh.), his brother Mikhail (1891-1897, 8 sh.), Khitrovo S. (1891, 15 sh.), letters without identified author, Gezen A. (9.8.1891, 1 sh.), Gofs?teter I.A. (6.4.1897, 2 sh.), Gromadskij V. (9.4.1897, 1 sh.), Dragomir'ckij (?) V.S. (10.4.1897, 1 sh.), Dubenskij P. (16.2.1897, 1 sh.), Efron I.A. (2.8.1891, 1 sh.), Kolubovskij Ja. (9.8.1891, 1 sh.), Konevskij M. (28.7.1891, 2 sh.), Koni A. F. (27.1.1897, 1 sh.), Korolenko V.G. (22.10.1890, 1 sh.), Korsakova E. P. (6.7. ?, 1 sh.), Krec?etovic? I. (27.2.1897, 1 sh.), Lopatin (2.8.1891, 2 sh.), Mel'nikova D.D. (29.7.?, 4 sh.), Obleukhov A. (27.2.1897, 1 sh.), Panjutina A. (not dated, 2 sh.), Sokolovsij N V. (22.3.1897, 6 sh.), Syromjatnikov S.N. (24.1.1897, 3.3.?, 4 sh.), Tardieur E. (in French, 3/15.11.1894, 1 sh.), Tul'skaja Gubernaja Zemskaja komissija po narodnomu obrazovaniju (30.4.1897, 1 sh.), S�tern F. (5.3.1897, 1 sh.), S�ur L. (9.4.1891, 1 sh.), Engel'gardt N. (not dated, 1 sh.), 3 letters without identified author.

-On VS: letters from Kireev A. A. to Strakhov N. N. (1893-1891, 19 letters; mention of I. S. Aksakov, V. S. Solov'ev and L. N. Tolstoj), Kuz'min-Karavaev D. to Vl. D. K.Karavaev (3 sh.), Tomas?evskij to V Dmitrievic? (14.5.1885, 2 sh.)

c)Except the "Opis' funda Vl. Solov'eva", there are other documents related to VS referred to in the general catalogue of the Department of Manuscripts:
- VS's autographs: "Ideja c?elovec?estva u A. Konta", notes taken on the defense of a thesis (of an unknown person), speech "rec' na universitetskom obede" (8.2.1890, 2 sh.), verses, etc.
- VS's letters to: Kireev A. A. (1877-1887) and drafts of letters from Kireev to VS; to Kolubovskij (1891-1894, 7 l., 12 sh.), to Pypin A. N. (published) and Stasjulevic? M. M. (published).
- documents on VS: letters from Grot N. Ja. to Strakhov N. N. (1887-1895, 35 l.), Gusev I. I. [?] to Kn.-Vetrov I. S. (1 l.), Kapanova Z. to Kn.-Vetrov D.and I. S. (19.3.-17.11 1916), Nikiforov N. K. to S�ubinskij S. N. (29.6.1901), Pypin A. N. to Rupin V. P. (1 l.), Trubeckoj E. N. to Struve P.B. (1906-1916, 11 letters), Trubeckoj S. N. to Pypin A. N (not dated, 1 l.), Sinekovic? (?)V.'s "Vospominanija" (years 1950!)
Kireev's text "Kharakteristika Vl. S. Solov'eva" (years 1900).
- and even songs composed on VS's verses...

3. Rossijskij Gosudarstvennyj Istoric?eskij Arkhiv (RGIA)
(St-Petersburg, Anglijskaja nab. 4. Tel: 311.09.26. Dir.: Aleksandr Rostislavovic? Sokolov.)
a)Working conditions: people working in this institution are really ready to help you at any stage of your work (from consulting the multiple catalogues to deciphering VS's drafts written in a rush ). Moreover it is no problem to bring your computer, and even using electric power. The only obstacle to working the way we do is that copying any document of the XIXth century will cost you in addition to the copies 26 US dollars (for every document). In this kind of situation, you bless your precious portable machine... and sit for a couple of days deciphering and typing the documents you really need. And this is really an enjoyment, sitting in the building of the former Senate, in a solemn room with high, painted ceilings and golden ornaments.

b)Description of the archive of the Solov'ev family: "Fond Solov'evykh, N. 1120, opis'1"
There are no documents of VS himself in this archive,which consists basically in material of VS's father, Sergej M., and of his brother Vsevolod S.
1. Material related to Sergej M. Solov'ev: among others, letters to S.M. from Ger'e, Kavelin, Katkov, Leont'ev, Samarin, Tolstoj, C�ic?erin.
2. Material related to Vsevolod S. Solov'ev: notably his correspondence with his brothers ans sisters (but no letter from or to VS) and with his father; there are a lot of letters addressed to him (if you are interested, I have the list of the expeditors, many of them related to VS such as Stasjulevic?, Leont'ev, Aksakov, Danilevskij, etc); documents
related to Dostoevskij (notes, articles, letters), etc.
3. Material related to VS: three newspaper articles about VS, probably possessed by Vsevolod.
4. Others: material related to VS's sisters.

c) In other catalogues we can find references to VS:
- in the catalogue of the "Ministerstvo Narodnogo Prosves?c?enija": correspondence of VS with the curator about the kommandirovka to London,about the permission to give an or another lecture.
- in the catalogue concerning the "Komitet Cenzury" : works of VS published in Russia and abroad, submitted to examination. Interesting comments of the censor.
This part of the archive gives an idea of the complexity of getting your work known (published or merely heard at a lecture) at that time. Though VS did not care about the censorship, documents show how it was, from the years '80 onward, an unavoidable institution and for VS often an obstacle to his thoughts being spread.

NB:
1. According to the Solov'ev-archive-experts, Alexandr Nosov and Nikolaj Kotrelev, the catalogues and opisi in these archives do not mention ALL documents that can be found of and on VS. There is more to be discovered. The best way is to consult them. Their help and advice were most precious for my work in the archives and in the libraries. I keenly recommend you to consult them if you intend to work there.
2. There are other archive documents:
- in the Dept of Manuscripts of the Pus?kinskij Dom (St-Petersburg, Nab. Makarova 4, Institut Russkoj Literatury. Tel: 218.05.02; 218.08.02 (Otdel rukopisej).Dir. Nikolaj Nikolaevic? Skatov), but at that time it was closed.
- in the Dept of Manuscripts of the Russian State Library, ("Leninka"), "temporarily closed" since a long time.
3. Have a look at the Biblioteka Dukhovnoj Akademii in St-Petersburg (on the territory of the Lavra Aleksandra Nevskogo): there are many studies on VS, mainly by theologians but not exclusively.

___________________________________________________________

M.A. Manon de Courten
Centre for Russian Humanities Studies
Department of Philosophy
University of Nijmegen

mail: P.O. Box 9103
NL - 6500 HD Nijmegen
tel.: + 31 - 24 361 15 98
fax: + 31 - 24 361 55 64
e-mail: mdecourten@phil.kun.nl