The Image of Nestor Makhno in the Pages of Alexey N. Tostoy’s Trilogy The Road to Calvary: Documents and Materials
Journal Title: Studia Litterarum - Year 2017, Vol 2, Issue 4
Abstract
This article examines documentary sources of the image of Nestor Ivanovich Makhno in Alexey N. Tolstoy’s trilogy The Road to Calvary; it bears on the materials that are both published (Tolstoy’s notebooks) and hitherto unpublished. Among the latter, there are Tolstoy’s notes from The Diary of Makhno’s Wife and the execution record of ataman N.A. Grigoriev shot by the Makhnovists on July 28, 1919. The document entitled The Diary of Makhno’s Wife was repeatedly quoted in Soviet publications of the 1920s which caused a negative reaction on behalf of both Makhno and P.A. Arshinov, the ideologist of the Makhnovist movement who claimed the diary to be fake. However, G.A. Kuzmenko, Makhno’s civil wife, recognized the authenticity of the document in a conversation with a historian S.N. Semanov in the late 1960s. The traces of Tolstoy’s acquaintance with the diary may be found in the final book of the trilogy The Road to Calvary, a novel Gloomy Morning where he describes Makhno’s behavior before the march on Yekaterinoslavin. Drawing details from the document, reconstructing a general picture on its basis and adding imaginary details, the author thus gave his own assessment of the diary. Equally interesting is Grigoriev’s execution record that is preserved in Tolstoy’s archive. It is the evidence of the author’s open refusal to follow reliable, documented information. Despite the fact that Grigoriev was shot by Makhno’s allies, the author makes Makhno himself commit the crime. The leader of the Ukrainian rebel movement leaves the pages of the trilogy as the immediate assassin of the insurgent ataman, and the novel’s climax thus reflects Tolstoy’s attitude to his literary character.
Authors and Affiliations
Galina N. Vorontsova
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP26196
- DOI 10.22455/2500-4247-2017-2-4-250-269
- Views 451
- Downloads 13
Allegory, Poetrie, Rhetoric: On the Notion of Poetic Fiction in France at the End of the 15 th Century
The allegorical dimension of the text in the early French Renaissance culture became, under the influence of Boccaccio’s Genealogy of the Pagan Gods, the main argument in the defense of poetic fiction (fabula). However...
Russian Folk Culture in the 20 th Century: Oral Evidence of the Villagers (On the Materials of Folklore Expeditions)
Folk culture is capable of developing certain adaptation mechanisms that help it promptly react to the changing conditions of natural, socio-political, and economic environment. This is evidenced by the stories of the v...
ADULT AND HIS OTHER: CONCEPTUALIZATION OF THE CHILDHOOD IN THE AUSTRIAN MODERNIST FICTION (ON THE EXAMPLE OF R.M. RILKE)
The childhood as the subject of psychology, philosophy, and art is object of intensive study in the 20th century Austrian culture. Childhood is seen as the origin of personhood, its “code” that calls for interpretation...
DISCUSSION ON THE TYPES OF LITERARY TRANSLATION IN THE SOVIET TRANSLATION STUDIES
The article discusses the theory and history of literary translation in the Soviet Union, namely, the dispute between Moscow and St. Petersburg schools of translation. The main focus is on the chapter from an unfinishe...
The Dutch Connection: Johanna van der Meulen’s Contribution to Russian Symbolism
The Symbolist Ėllis’ (Lev Kobylinskij) writings during his Moscow period emphasize the split, the division and dichotomy between material reality and celestial vision. His works written in exile in Locarno-Monti in Switz...