Our Notes & References

First edition of Dovlatov’s brilliant short stories, which often draw comparison with Chekhov.

An excellent example, inscribed to a Russian poetess, translator, journalist and radio presenter in Los Angeles and New York, Iraida Vandelos-Legkaia. She worked almost 25 Vyears at the “Voice of America”, in 1963 –1987, first in Los Angeles and from the 1970s in New York. The Latvian-born Vandelos was also Dovlatov’s colleague as he worked for a long time in “Radio Svoboda” [“Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty”] and very likely had several interview-collaborations with her.

“One of the most beloved Russian people’s writers of the 20th century” (Saprykin, our translation here and elsewhere), the writer and journalist Sergei Dovlatov (1941-90) was unable to print his works in official Soviet publications during his lifetime. In the late 1960s, his works were distributed in samizdat, which led to his persecution by the authorities and immigration to the US in 1978. He died of heart failure just a couple of years before he gained enormous national fame in his homeland: his complete collections of works were published in Russia in multiple editions and large print runs, unlike works of all other Russian 1990s authors — as one of his former colleagues Valerii Popov recalled, “He replaced all of us” (from Ryzhova).

Because of his simple, ironic short stories and laconic wording, he is often compared to Anton Chekhov. Dovlatov himself pointed this out in one of his notebooks: “One can be in awe of Tolstoy’s intelligence. Admire the elegance of Pushkin. Appreciate the moral quest of Dostoevsky. Gogol’s humour. And so on. But one only wants to be like Chekhov”.

Nashi is a collection of twelve independent short stories written in the United States in the first half of the 1980s. Each story portrays Dovlatov’s relatives and even a family dog Glafira — the book originally was thought to be titled “A family album”. Five of these stories also appeared in The New Yorker magazine in English between 1980 and 1989, each with an individual title (“My Elder Brother”, “The Colonel Says I Love You”, “Auntie’s Husband Aron”, “Uncle Leopold” and “Father”).

The book was published by Ardis, “the most important and legendary foreign publisher of Russian literature, the pinnacle of the history of tamizdat” (Oborin). Run by American Slavists Carl and Ellendea Proffer, Ardis made possible the publication of works that had no place in the Soviet publishing houses, including those by the major Silver age and contemporary authors. Dovlatov’s very first book was published by Ardis in 1977 when he was still in Russia. In his essay in memory of Karl Proffer, Dovlatov wrote: “The publications of Ardis is now the basis of all the serious reference works, textbooks and manuals used by contemporary American and Western Slavic scholars.”

The cover was prepared by Mark Serman, an American photographer of Russian-Ukrainian descent who also worked in Novyi amerikanets [The New American], a newspaper (1980-1982) in which Dovlatov was one of the founders and editor-in-chief.

Provenance

Iraida Vandelos-Legkaia (1932-2020; manuscript dedication from the author on the upper flyleaf: “Miloi Iraide – s uvazheniiem i druzhboi. S.”).

Bibliography

Sergei Dovlatov, “Pamiati Karla Proffera”, Sem dnei, New York, 1984, #45 (October 5); Lev Oborin, “Ardis byl obshchim delom”, Polka academy, 2021; Varvara Ryzhova, “Sergei Dovlatov. Zapovednik”, Polka academy, 2020; Iurii Saprykin, Varvara Babitskaia, Lev Oborin, “Solo na diktofone” // Radio svoboda, 2021.