Sergei Rudolfovich Mintslov (1870–1933) - Russian writer, author of several historical novels, connoisseur and connoisseur of the Russian book, bibliographer, participant of several archaeological expeditions. Collected and systematized a large library of Russian books. Brother A. R. Mintslova .
Sergey Mintslov | |
---|---|
Date of Birth | 1 (13) January 1870 |
Place of Birth | Ryazan , Russian Empire |
Date of death | December 18, 1933 (63 years) |
Place of death | Riga , Latvia |
Citizenship (citizenship) | |
Occupation | novelist |
Genre | historical novel |
Language of Works | |
About the history of the genus
Sergei Mintslov was born into a family with old cultural traditions, whose roots went to ancient Lithuania . On this occasion, it can be noted that two representatives of the Minzlovs' clan fell in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410 , when the Teutonic army was utterly defeated by the combined Polish-Lithuanian army, commanded by King Vladislav Jagailo . Rudolf Ivanovich Mintslov, the grandfather of the future writer, for many years headed the foreign department of the Imperial Public Library , and his wife Ernestina de Halle , Mintslova’s grandmother, wrote talented poems in French, which was her native. Sergey's father was Rudolf Rudolfovich Mintslov (1845-1904) - a lawyer, publicist and bibliophile.
Beginning of life
The future author and bibliographer entered the service in the Nizhny Novgorod Cadet Corps , which he completed quite successfully. Mintslova's parents planned a brilliant military or bureaucratic career in St. Petersburg for him (the prospect loomed for him to join the Moscow Guard), but Mintslov decided differently for himself. It has long been interested in the culture and history of Lithuania, the ancestral lands of its ancestors, Mintslov wants to serve in the Ufa regiment , which was lodged in Vilna . However, the service did not take up all the time - Minzlov often visited abandoned and semi-abandoned estates of the gentry, exposing the interiors to meticulous scientific research, the results of which were meticulously fixed - later all his achievements in this field were presented as a gift to the Prussian State Library. Apparently, this passion infatuation predetermined his further fate. After the first experiments with the noble estates of Minzlov, he resigned and began to pay much attention to collecting rare books from the life of Polish-Lithuanian nobles.
Studying at the Alexander School
Soon, the young researcher goes to Moscow , where he enters the Alexander Military School , in which he likes. He himself admits that he was really lucky with the teachers. The teaching staff was mainly represented by the color of Russian academic science - the teachers were “guest lecturers” from Moscow University. In particular, Sergey received particular pleasure by attending lectures by prominent Russian philologist Fyodor Ivanovich Buslaev , a recognized specialist in ancient texts.
Creative activities
Then Sergei Mintslov - a graduate of the Nizhny Novgorod Archaeological Institute. Mintslov spent some time in bibliographic expeditions to different regions of Russia in order to get rare specimens for his library. Then he still entered the service in the provincial and provincial institutions, and all the 90s of the XIX century he passed under the sign of the bureaucratic service, although he managed to engage in writing activities, which seriously succeeded, writing quite a lot in this period. He does not leave bibliography, which later turned into a valuable catalog “Rare Books Written in Russia in Russian”, which was published in St. Petersburg in 1904. The special value of this bibliographic publication was that the books included in it were for a long time under censorship and were not allowed to be printed. Already later, in 1911–1912, his five-volume work “A Review of Notes, Diaries, Memories, Letters and Journeys Relating to Russia” was published in Novgorod. At the moment, this collection is unique, as it includes 5,000 memoir texts written before the twentieth century, which is the largest collection of Russian memoir literature. Further, in 1913, the so-called “Book Depository of Sergei Rudolfovich Mintslov” appeared, which earned the author popularity already in wider circles. Earlier, in 1904, an entertaining book by Mintslov entitled “For Dead Souls” was published, by which one can judge about Gogol's reminiscences and allusions in Mintslov's artistic work.
Posts in Russia before emigration
Since 1909, under the influence of personal circumstances, the Minzlov entered civil service several times: 1910-1911 - Zemstvo head in the Ufa province (in Sterlitamak district , in the village of Bogoyavlensky (now Krasnousolskoye); 1911-1912 - as an official of special assignments under the Novgorod governor; 1912 -1913 - a number of posts in the Poltava province .
In emigration
In 1916, after the onset of war, Mintslov, by the will of fate, entered Trabzon , where he headed a military newspaper in Russian, systematically speaking with a personal opinion in the editorial column. Next year, in 1917, Minzlov returned to Petrograd, where he became restless, so he decides to wait out passions and engage in creative work in his family estate near Vyborg . Nevertheless, revolutionary activity comes to this quiet corner - in 1918 Vyborg joins Finland , so the Minzlov automatically finds themselves in the territory of a foreign country. The next stop Mintslov makes in Serbia , where it is fixed in the town of Zemun , trying to find creative peace. In the end, in the middle of 1922, the Mintslov moved to Riga, where the Russian diaspora existed, while it was relatively comfortable even compared to Paris or Berlin . Favorable creative atmosphere allows you to accumulate a creative reputation in the press, it becomes a frequent guest of many publishing houses in Riga. In the same year, Mintslov was not solemn, but in a narrow circle he celebrates the fortieth anniversary of literary activity and draws strong friendship with a public figure, leader of the Latvian Old Believers Ivan Zavoloko . In total, Mintslov published 20 books, including a significant part of them was published in his own publishing house Mintslova.
Creative line
His landmark book "Petersburg in the years 1903-1910" was published in Riga in 1931. It sets the memoir-confessional tone, which is generally inherent in the manner of presentation of Sergei Mintslova. Such nostalgic, lyrical and confidential notes are present in another work by Mintslov - “Distant Days”, which is entirely devoted to the memories of the author’s childhood years. No less remarkable is his epistolary collection “Trapezondnaya epic”, which consists of diary records of an eyewitness to the military events, who suffered from military everyday life, being at the same time more like a civilian who fell victim to circumstances beyond his control.
Sergei Rudolfovich Mintslov, a close friend of Pyotr Moiseevich Pilsky , was a member of several cultural and historical societies in Russia. Pilsky wrote about him like this: “Now the“ general public ”knows mainly Mintslova-fiction writer, but earlier this side was eclipsed by scientists, research works”. The fact is that in Riga, Mintslov had the opportunity to print abundantly in literary applications, which allowed the widest public to get a deeper acquaintance with Mintslov’s artistic exploration, which is known not only as a bibliophile, but also as a subtle, astute novelist.
Missing library and Minzlov as a literary character
The library collections of Sergei Mintzlov have not survived to this day in their entirety. In order to make an impression about the value of the library collected by the collector, you can refer to the book of another Riga collector of the Russian book Stanislav Rubinchik "The manuscript found in the sac bag", which is devoted to the disappeared Mintslov collection, written in a light fictional form. In this fascinating adventure (essentially) novel, all peripetias that the literary Minzlov was forced to face were creatively played up, trying to find his book treasure, to which he devoted many years of his life. The book was published in Riga in 1978, and the Riga artist Elena Antimonova took up her illustrations. As for the library collection, which was accumulated from an early age, it was lost partly during the revolutions of 1917, although most of it was taken away by a collector to Vyborg, and partly in the 30s and 40s of the 20th century.
Other Literary Works
At the early stage, Sergey Mintslov's poems were published in Odessa, in 1897. Among the books of Mintslova can be identified "Essays of the Urals," a historical and ethnographic nature, which saw the light even in the prewar period, in Ufa , in 1910. It is also possible to note the “Inventory of the Mintslova Book Depository” (St. Petersburg, 1905). Adventure adventure story, built on the historical canvas - "Treasure" - appeared in St. Petersburg in 1912. In the same year, in the same city - the compelling story "The Runaways" and "King of Kings". In 1915, the reader became acquainted with the historical novel “At the Dawn of the Century”, even earlier, in 1908, the reading public became acquainted with the story “Into the Darkness”, and in 1909 the novel “In a Thunderstorm” appeared. In 1911 he published the historical novel “In the Forests of Lithuania” (which continued the Lazhechnikovsky and Zagokin traditions), as well as a historical novel with a sharp and tense story “On the Crosses”.
Mintslov's historical novels were very popular among Russian émigrés; in 1933 his books ranked first in terms of extraditions at the Turgenev Library in Paris.
Sergey Rudolfovich Mintslov died in Riga, was buried at the Pokrovsky cemetery .
Works
- Wolves, 1899, 5th ed. - Riga, 1927
- In a Thunderstorm, 1902, 4th ed. - Riga, 1927
- The path of fire, 1905, Riga, 1929
- Review of notes, diaries, memoirs, letters and travels relating to the history of Russia, Novgorod, 1911-12 (annotated bibliography, reprint - Leipzig, 1976)
- Secret Mission (Journey to Uryanhai), 1914
- To the noise of the oaks, 1919, Berlin, 1921, 1924
- Historical dramas, Trabzon, 1917
- For dead souls, Berlin, 1921, reprint Paris, 1978
- Wilds of life. Diary 1910-1915, Berlin, 1923 (?)
- Dreams of the earth. Berlin 1925
- What we do not know, Sophia, 1926
- Sunset, Berlin, 1926
- Holy lakes. Recent, Riga, 1927
- Adventure Students, Riga, 1928
- Mystical evenings, Riga, 1930
- Eagle takeoff, Riga, 1931
- Petersburg in the years 1903-1910. Memories, Riga.
- The past ... (Essays from the life of the Tsar's Family), Sofia, Zarnitsa, ok 1922 (1926?)
Literature
Sagadeev, R. Yurmatian pages of the Russian writer: S.R. Mintslov - writer, historian and bibliographer / R. Sagadeev // Sunrise .- 2012.- 3 Aug.- C.4.