“...Losing It Would Be a Big Disaster for Me”. On the History of the Novel “Before the Deluge” by M.A. Aldanov

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.22455/Emigr.3034-3518-2025-3-267-281
  • УДК / UDC: 821.161.1.0
  • EDN:

    https://elibrary.ru/XJBIUA
  • Publication Type: Research Article and Publication of Archival Documents
  • For Citation:

    Martynov, A.V. “‘...Losing It Would Be a Big Disaster for Me’. On the History of the Novel ‘Before the Deluge’ by M.A. Aldanov.” Emigrantica. Issue 3, ed.-comp. E.R. Ponomarev, acad. ed. E.R. Ponomarev, ed. A.V. Protopopova, M.S. Shchavlinskii, D.V. Zaitsev. Moscow, IWL RAS Publ., 2025, pp. 267–281. (In Russian) https://doi.org/10.22455/Emigr.3034-3518-2025-3-267-281
  • Author 1: Andrei V. Martynov
  • Information about the Author 1:

    Andrei V. Martynov, PhD in Philosophy, Senior Researcher, International Laboratory for Research on Russian-European Intellectual Dialogue National Research University Higher School of Economics, Staraia Basmannaia St. 21/4, bld. 1, 105066 Moscow, Russia.
    E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
    ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2283-5477

     
  • Abstract: The article reconstructs the history of the creation of the novel Before the Deluge based on the diverse, including previously unpublished, epistolary heritage of M.A. Aldanov. It covers the period from 1942, when the writer began writing the text, to 1948, when he made the last edits to the manuscript of a separate edition. Before the Deluge was conceived by the writer long before the writer long before the beginning of direct work on the fiction, which eventually became the pinnacle of Aldanov’s work. The author explores the reasons for choosing the topic. The writer saw in the regicide on March 1, 1881, described in the book, the start of the events that led to the collapse of Russian statehood in 1917. The process of selecting characters and novel writing itself is traced. Also cited are Aldanov’s disputes with his correspondents about the new work, in particular, his discussion concerning the feasibility of a reliable depiction of both specific historical figures and the entire past era, their comments and assessments of the work are considered. The researcher, using archival sources, corrects the dates of the final completion of the novel manuscript. The complex problems that Aldanov encountered during the search for publishers when printing the Russian edition of Before the Deluge are shown.
  • Keywords: Aldanov, Grebenshhikov, Nabokov, Maklakov, Adamovich, Kuskova, Bunin, Teffi, Zaitsev, YMCA
  • Funding Sources: The article was prepared within the framework of the Basic Research Program at the National Research University Higher School of Economics
  • Страницы / Pages: 267–281

References

  1. Tribunskii, P.A. “Fond Forda, fond ‛ Svobodnaia Rossiia’ / Vostochnoevropeiskii fond i sozdanie ‛ Izdatel'stva imeni Chekhova’” [Ford Foundation, “Free Russia” Foundation / East European Foundation and the creation of the Chekhov Publishing House]. Ezhegodnik Doma russkogo zarubezh'ia im. Aleksandra Solzhenitsyna [Yearbook of the House of Russian Abroad named after Alexander Solzhenitsyn], 2013. Moscow, Dom russkogo zarubezh'ia imeni Aleksandra Solzhenitsyna Publ., 2014, pp. 577–600. (In Russian)
  2. Ural’skii, M.L. Mark Aldanov: pisatel’, obshchestvennyi deiatel’ i dzhentl’men russkoi emigratsii [Mark Aldanov: Writer, Public Figure and Gentleman of Russian Emigration]. St. Petersburg, Aleteiia Publ., 2019, 802 p. (In Russian)
  3. Chernyshev, A.A. “‛Istoki’” [“Before the Deluge”]. Literaturnaia entsiklopediia Russkogo zarubezh'ia. 1918–1940 [Literary Encyclopedia of Russian Abroad. 1918–1940], Vol. 3. Books. Moscow, Rossiiskaia politicheskaia entsiklopediiaPubl., 2002, pp. 40–41. (In Russian)
  4. Karpovich, М. The Chekov Publishing House. Russian Review, 1957, Vol. 16, no. 1 (June), pp. 53–58. (In English)
  5. Lee, N.C. The novels of Mark Aleksandrovič Aldanov. La Haye, Mouton, 1969, 386 p. (In English)
  • Received: November 24, 2023
  • Approved after Reviewing: September 17, 2024
  • Publication Date: December 29, 2025

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