1st Edition

Russian and East European Books and Manuscripts in the United States Proceedings of a Conference in Honor of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Bakhmeteff Archive of Russia

    154 Pages
    by Routledge

    154 Pages
    by Routledge

    Gain a better understanding of the past and cultures of Slavic and East European peoples with American archival collections!

    Russian and East European Books and Manuscripts in the United States, the first collection of its kind, offers perspectives from leading Slavic librarians, archivists and historians on the cultural history of Russian and East European exiles and immigrants to North America in the twentieth century. Editor Tanya Chebotarev—curator of the Bahkmeteff Archive at Columbia University—and a group of leading authorities document the concerted effort to preserve Russian and East European written culture outside the bounds of Communist power. This book is a vital addition to the collections of archivists, librarians, historians, and graduate students in Russian studies and American immigrations.

    Russian and East European Books and Manuscripts in the United States explores the role of Russian émigrés, librarians, and scholars in the United States in providing a haven for archival collections of Russian literature, art, and historical manuscripts at the height of panic during the Cold War. This essential resource celebrates the efforts made by archivists and librarians in collecting émigré materials. This book addresses many important related topics, such as:

    • an introduction to the life and work of Boris Aleksandrovich Bakhmeteff—financial contributor to the Archive and the last Russian ambassador to the United States before the Bolsheviks’ seizure of power
    • the Eurasianist movement—its roles and views on science, culture, and empire
    • reflections of Russian émigrés on Soviet nationality policies during the 1920s and 1930s
    • American collections on immigrants from the Russian Empire
    • the New York Public Library—its role in collecting and describing vernacular Slavic and East European language and history materials to a diverse readership
    • Columbia University Libraries’ Slavic and East European Collections—a historical overview of these extraordinarily rich collections of materials from or about the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and the countries and people of Eastern Europe
    • the Hoover Institution’s Polish émigré collections and the Polish state archives
    • Russian archives online—present status and future prospects
    This book also details recent efforts to “repatriate” archival collections and libraries abroad and return them to their countries of origin. Disagreements between countries are already emerging, and Russian and East European Books and Manuscripts in the United States discusses their implications and the future of America’s Slavic archives.

    • Preface
    • Introduction
    • Boris Bakhmeteff’s Intellectual Legacy in American and Russian Collections
    • Science, Culture, and Empire: Eurasianism as a Modernist Movement
    • From the Other Shore: Reflections of Russian Émigré Thinkers on Soviet Nationality Policies, 1920s-1930s
    • American Collections on Immigrants and Émigrés from the Russian Empire
    • The New York Public Library’s Émigré Readership and Collections: Past, Present, and Future
    • Columbia University Libraries’ Slavic and East European Collections: A Preliminary History at 100 Years
    • The Hoover Institution’s Polish Émigré Collections and the Polish State Archives
    • Russian Archives Online: Present Status and Future Prospects
    • Russian Attitudes Towards Archival Rossica Abroad: Cultural Reintegration or Political Agenda?
    • Reference Notes Included

    Biography

    Tanya Chebotarev, Jared S. Ingersoll