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https://doi.org/10.22455/2541-8297-2026-40-08-32

Research Article and Publication of Archival Documents

Articles

“The Poet and the Thief”: Nikolai Nekrasov in the Diary and Memoirs of Gavriil Potanin

Guseva

Zoya V.

editor@litfact.ru

2026

Gavriil N. Potanin Nikolai A. Nekrasov Sovremennik diary memoirs

2026

This article examines the history of the relationship between the now almost forgotten writer of the 1860s, Gavriil Potanin, and the editor of Sovremennik magazine, Nikolai Nekrasov, who introduced the novice author to the literary environment. The research focuses on a comparative analysis of Potanin’s unpublished personal diary, which he calls “Nochnick,” and his memoirs, “Memoirs of N. Nekrasov.” The plots and formulations repeated in both texts suggest that when working on the late “Memoirs...” the author drew on his diary. Both in the “Nochnick” and in the memoirs, Potanin pays great attention to the figure of Nekrasov; however, assessments of the personality and the same actions of the editor of Sovremennik often turn out to be diametrically opposed in the two texts. In his diary, Potanin accuses Nekrasov of hypocrisy, dishonesty, and haughtiness, while in the “Memoirs...” he admires his humanity and consideration for his employees. The article separately examines a case in which Potanin’s negative judgments about Nekrasov, recorded in the “Nochnick,” are re-attributed to other people in his memoirs. The article explores the biographical context of the creation of Potanin’s diary entries and suggests possible reasons for the shift in the author’s attitude towards Nekrasov in the memoirs written much later.

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