Prince V. F. Odoevskii

Collection

Holding institution (official language):: Российская национальная библиотека. Отдел рукописей.

Postal address:: 91069, Russia, St. Petersburg, ul. Sadovaia, д. 18, main building

Scope and content:: Both of the fonds’ inventories feature materials pertaining to Jewish history and culture. Op. 1 contains an autograph draft of an unfinished article by V. F. Odoevskii titled “The Tatar Campaign against Jews,” a polemical response to an article that had appeared in the newspaper Den’ regarding the issue of whether Jews with higher education should be allowed to enter government service; Odoevskii characterises this as a “measure that would be extremely reasonable, humane, virtuous, and called for by our present needs”; and describes Jews themselves as a “gifted tribe” that has preserved, “despite all oppression, wondrous talents for every sort of science and art” (no earlier than 1861-62). The inventory also contains manuscripts of works by V. F. Odoevskii that contain Jewish motifs: characters practicing Kabbalah; particular names of characters, e.g., Segeliel’ (based on the Hebrew Sehel li el, “Reason is God to me”), the main character of the tale “Dr. Segeliel’, or the Don Quixote of the 19th c.” (1832); in the story “Zefiroty” (from the traditional Jewish term sfirot or sephirot), V. F. Odoevskii depicts supernatural winged characters (1861); etc. Op. 2 has notes from V. F. Odoevskii’s student days “on the origin of rabbis” (1820-22).

Administrative/biographical history:: Prince Vladimir Fedorovich Odoevskii (1803-69) was a writer, philosopher, teacher, musicologist and music critic, and collector of old Russian music manuscripts. He graduated from Moscow University’s Noblemen’s Boarding School in 1803. In 1824-25 he and V. K. Kiukhel’beker published the almanac Mnemozina [Mnemosyne]. In 1827-30 he was one of the main organisers of the journal Moskovskii vestnik and co-edited A. S. Pushkin’s journal Sovremennik [The Contemporary]. He moved to St. Petersburg in 1826. From 1846 on, he served as assistant director of the Imperial Public Library and director of the Rumiantsev Museum; and in 1861 he became a senator. His main works were “The Improviser” (1833), “The Brigadier” (1833), “Princess Mimi” (1834), “The Sylph” (1837), “Princess Zizi” (1839), “The Salamander” (1840), “Cosmorama” (1840), and the tale-cycle Russian Nights (1844).

Subject terms:: Antisemitism; Antisemitism--Antisemitic measures; Kabalah; Manuscripts

System of arrangement:: The fonds includes two inventories; op. 1 consists of a printed copy of the supplement “Papers of Prince V. F. Odoevskii,” published in Report of the Imperial Public Library for 1884 (St. Petersburg, 1887; supplement, pp. 1-65); and op. 2 is systematised by structure, and in part alphabetically.