Literay Fact

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https://doi.org/10.22455/2541-8297-2026-41-91-111

Research Article and Publication of Archival Documents

Articles

“And it is Based on Love... “: The Correspondence of Leonid Zurov with Boris Zaitsev, Vera Zaitseva and Natalia Sollogub. 1928–1971

Lyubomudrov

Alexey M.

editor@litfact.ru

2026

Boris Zaitsev Leonid Zurov Natalia Sollogub Russian literary abroad correspondence archives

2026

For forty years Leonid Zurov and Boris Zaitsev’s family had close friendly relations. Their correspondence, covering the period from 1928 to 1971, is introduced into scholarly circulation. The letters reflect different periods of their communication and contain Zaitsev’s assessments of Leonid Zurov’s most significant works such as the novel “Field,” the novellas “Fatherland” and “Cadet,” and the collection “Maryanka.” Zaitsev discovers in Zurov’s books an “excellent Russian language,” a “courageous tone,” and the “poetry and religion of Russian antiquity.” The correspondence reveals a number of previously unknown biographical details, in particular, it allows us to establish the time and circumstances of Zurov and Zaitsev’s acquaintance. Boris and Vera Zaitsev share their impressions of their trip to Finland with Zurov, who had visited Valaam, and Natalia and Andrey Sollogub talk about their acquaintance with the places of Zurov’s historical and archaeological research in Scotland. Natalia Sollogub’s letters of the 1960s testify to her constant and active assistance to Zurov during his illness. The correspondence thus adds remarkable touches to the picture of the Russian literary abroad.

Belobrovtseva, Z. Leonid Zurov. V teni Bunina [Leonid Zurov. In the Shadow of Bunin]. Moscow, Azbukovnik Publ., 2020. 238 p. (In Russ.)

A. Bunin: Novye materialy [I.A. Bunin: New Materials], vol. 3: “…Kogda perepisyvaiutsia blizkie liudi”: Pis’ma I.A. Bunina, V.N. Buninoi, L.F. Zurova k G.N. Kuznetsovoi i M.A. Stepun [Letters from I.A. Bunin, V.N. Bunina, L.F. Zurov to G.N. Kuznetsova and M.A. Stepun], comp., text prep. E.R. Ponomarev and R. Davies. Moscow, Russkii put’ Publ., 2014. 714 p. (In Russ.)

Vera zhena Borisa: Dnevniki Very Alekseevny 1937–1964 [Vera Is Boris’s Wife: The Diaries of Vera Alekseevna Zaitseva. 1937–1964], comp., introd. and comm. O.A. Rostova. Moscow, Marina Tsvetaeva House Museum Publ., 2016. 752 p. (In Russ.)

Gromova, V. “B.K. Zaitsev i L.F. Zurov: Istoriia otnoshenii” [“B.K. Zaitsev and L.F. Zurov: The History of Their Relationship”]. Real’nost’ — Literatura — Tekst: Materialy nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii “Kaluga na literaturnoi karte Rossii” [Reality — Literature — Text: Proceedings of the Scientific and Practical Conference “Kaluga on the Literary Map of Russia”]. Kaluga, Kaluga State University Publ., 2007, pp. 177–181. (In Russ.)

Zaitsev, B.K. Sobranie sochinenii: v 11 t. [Collected Works: in 11 vols.], comp. and comm. by T.F. Prokopov. Moscow, Russkaia kniga Publ., 1999–2001. (In Russ.)

Zurov, L.F. “Zhelaiu schast’ia i radosti…”: Perepiska s rossiiskimi pisateliami i uchenymi: 1957–1971 [“I Wish You Happiness and Joy...”: Correspondence with Russian Writers and Scholars: 1957–1971], , introd., text prep. and comm. by A.M. Lyu- bomudrov. St. Petersburg, ART BUK Publ., 2023. 640 p. (In Russ.)

Lyubomudrov, M. “‘U vas mnogo dushi, eto glavnoe dlia tvorchestva’. Perepiska I.S. Shmeleva i L.F. Zurova (1928–1929)” [““You Have a Lot of Soul, This Is the Main Thing for Creativity’: The Correspondence between Ivan Shmelyov and Leonid Zurov (1928–1929)”]. Studia Litterarum, vol. 8, no. 3, 2023, pp. 256–279. https://doi.org/10.22455/2500-4247-2023-8-3-256-279 (In Russ.)

“Napishite mne v al’bom…”: Besedy s B. Sollogub v Biussi-an-Ot [“Write to My Album...”: Conversations with N.B. Sollogub in Bussy-en-Haute], comp. and comm. by O.A. Rostova. Moscow, Russkii put’ Publ., 2004. 280 p. (In Russ.)

“Predchuvstvie mne podskazyvaet, chto ia nedolgii gost’…”: Perepiska I.A. Bunina i N. Kuznetsovoi s L.F. Zurovym (1928–1929) [“The Premonition Tells Me that I Am a Short Guest...”: Correspondence of I.A. Bunin and G.N. Kuznetsova with L.F. Zurov (1928–1929)], introd. by I. Belobrovtseva, publ. by I. Belobrovtseva and R. Davies. I.A. Bunin: Novye materialy [I.A. Bunin: New Materials], vol. 1, comp. and ed. by O. Korostelev and R. Davies, Moscow, Russkii put’ Publ., 2004, pp. 232–284. (In Russ.)