"Prince Mirsky" redirects here. For his father, the Imperial Minister of the Interior, see Pyotr Svyatopolk-Mirsky.
D. S. Mirsky is the English pen-name of Dmitry Petrovich Svyatopolk-Mirsky (Russian: Дми́трий Петро́вич Святопо́лк-Ми́рский), often known as Prince Mirsky (9 September [O.S. 22 August] 1890 – c. 7 June 1939), a Russian political and literary historian who promoted the knowledge and translations of Russian literature in the United Kingdom and of English literature in the Soviet Union. He was born in Kharkov Governorate and died in a Soviet gulag near Magadan.
Mirsky emigrated to Great Britain in 1921. While teaching Russian literature at the University of London, Mirsky published his landmark study A History of Russian Literature: From Its Beginnings to 1880. Vladimir Nabokov has called it "the best history of Russian literature in any language including Russian".[2] This work was followed with the Contemporary Russian Literature, 1881–1925,. Mirsky was a founding member of the Eurasianist movement and the chief editor of the periodical Eurasia, his own views gradually evolving toward Marxism. He also is usually credited with coining the term National Bolshevism. In 1931, he joined the Communist Party of Great Britain and asked Maxim Gorky if he could procure his pardon by Soviet authorities. The permission to return to the USSR was granted him in 1932. On seeing him off to Russia, Virginia Woolf wrote in her diary that "soon there'll be a bullet through your head".[3]
Mirsky returned to Russia in September 1932.[4] Five years later, during the Great Purge, Mirsky was arrested by the NKVD. Mirsky's arrest may have been caused by a chance meeting with his friend, the British historian E. H. Carr who was visiting the Soviet Union in 1937.[5] Carr stumbled into Prince Mirsky on the streets of Leningrad (modern Saint Petersburg, Russia), and despite Prince Mirsky's best efforts to pretend not to know him, Carr persuaded his old friend to have lunch with him.[6] Since this was at the height of the Yezhovshchina, and any Soviet citizen who had any unauthorised contact with a foreigner was likely to be regarded as a spy, the NKVD arrested Mirsky as a British spy.[6] In April 1937, he was denounced in the journal Literaturnaya Gazeta as a "filthy Wrangelist and White Guard officer".[7] He died in one of the gulag labour camps near Magadan in June 1939 and was buried on the 7th of that month.[3] He was rehabilitated in 1962. Although his magnum opus was eventually published in Russia, Mirsky's reputation in his native country remains sparse.
Korney Chukovsky gives a lively portrait of Mirsky in his diary entry for 27 January 1935:
I liked him enormously: the vast erudition, the sincerity, the literary talent, the ludicrous beard and ludicrous bald spot, the suit which, though made in England, hung loosely on him, shabby and threadbare, the way he had of coming out with a sympathetic ee-ee-ee (like a guttural piglet squeal) after each sentence you uttered—it was all so amusing and endearing. Though he had very little money—he's a staunch democrat—he did inherit his well-born ancestors' gourmandise. His stomach will be the ruin of him. Every day he leaves his wretched excuse for a cap and overcoat with the concierge and goes into the luxurious restaurant [of the Hotel National in Moscow], spending no less than forty rubles on a meal (since he drinks as well as eats) plus four to tip the waiter and one to tip the concierge.[8]
Criticismedit
Malcolm Muggeridge, who met Mirsky after his return to the USSR, apparently met one of the author's critics, a French correspondent to Russia named Luciani, who had this to say of Mirsky: "Mirsky had pulled off the unusual feat of managing to be a parasite under three regimes — as a prince under Czarism, as a professor under Capitalism, and as an homme-de-lettres under Communism." On the other hand, Muggeridge himself said that he was "glad to be his protégé."[9]
George Orwell was highly critical of The Intelligentsia of Great Britain[10] but Tariq Ali had a more favourable assessment of this book.[11]
Selected publicationsedit
Anthology of Russian poetry (1924)
Modern Russian Literature (1925)
Pushkin (1926)
A History of Russian Literature: From Its Beginnings to 1900 in two volumes (1926, 1927); repr. Knopf (1958), Northwestern University Press (1999)
Contemporary Russian Literature: From 1881 to 1925 (1926)
A History of Russia (1928)'
Lenin (London: Holme Press, 1931).
Russia: A Social History (1931)
The Intelligentsia of Great Britain (1935), originally in Russian, translated by the author to English
Anthology of Modern English Poetry (1937) in Russian, published during Mirsky's arrest without acknowledgment of his authorship
Bookcover of the biography of Dmitry Mirsky
Referencesedit
^The strange case of D.S. Mirsky. Hilton Kramer, The New Criterion, January 2002. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
^Gerald Stanton Smith (2000). D.S. Mirsky. A Russian-English Life, 1890-1939. Oxford University Press. p. 295. ISBN978-0-19-816006-9.
^ abAscherson, Neal (8 March 2001). "Baleful Smile of the Crocodile". London Review of Books. 23 (5): 9–10.
^Roberts, I.W. (1991) History of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, 1915-1990. London: School of Slavonic and East European Studies. p. 29. ISBN978-0903425230
^Jonathan Haslam, The Vices of Integrity, E.H. Carr, 1892–1982 (London; New York: Verso, 1999), p. 76.
Gerald Stanton Smith. D. S. Mirsky : A Russian-English Life, 1890–1939. Oxford University Press: 2000 (ISBN0-19-816006-2).
Nina Lavroukine et Leonid Tchertkov, D. S. Mirsky : profil critique et bibliographique, Paris, Intitut d'Études Slaves, 1980, 110 pages, 6 planches hors-texte (ISBN2-7204-0164-1). (French language)
External linksedit
Contemporary Russian Literature, 1881-1925 - Full View | HathiTrust Digital Library
Red Prince, a Radio Liberty publication (in Russian)
Works by D. S. Mirsky at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
May 02, 2024
mirsky, prince, mirsky, redirects, here, father, imperial, minister, interior, pyotr, svyatopolk, mirsky, english, name, dmitry, petrovich, svyatopolk, mirsky, russian, Дми, трий, Петро, вич, Святопо, лк, Ми, рский, often, known, prince, mirsky, september, aug. Prince Mirsky redirects here For his father the Imperial Minister of the Interior see Pyotr Svyatopolk Mirsky D S Mirsky is the English pen name of Dmitry Petrovich Svyatopolk Mirsky Russian Dmi trij Petro vich Svyatopo lk Mi rskij often known as Prince Mirsky 9 September O S 22 August 1890 c 7 June 1939 a Russian political and literary historian who promoted the knowledge and translations of Russian literature in the United Kingdom and of English literature in the Soviet Union He was born in Kharkov Governorate and died in a Soviet gulag near Magadan Dmitry Svyatopolk MirskyBornDmitry Petrovich Svyatopolk Mirsky9 September O S 22 August 1890Giyovka estate Lyubotin Russian Empire now Liubotyn Ukraine Died7 June 1939 1939 06 07 aged 48 Sevvostlag Soviet UnionPen nameD S MirskyNationalityRussianGenreCriticismSubjectLiterature Contents 1 Early life 2 World War I and Civil War 3 London 4 Return to Russia 5 Criticism 6 Selected publications 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External linksEarly life editHe was born Prince Dimitry Petrovich Svyatopolk Mirsky 1 scion of the Svyatopolk Mirsky family son of knyaz Pyotr Dmitrievich Svyatopolk Mirsky Imperial Russian Minister of Interior and Countess Ekaterina Bobrinskaya He relinquished his princely title at an early age During his school years he became interested in the poetry of Russian symbolism and started writing poems himself World War I and Civil War editMirsky was mobilized in 1914 and saw service in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I After the October Revolution he joined the White movement as a member of Denikin s staff After the defeat of the White forces he fled to Poland in 1920 London editMirsky emigrated to Great Britain in 1921 While teaching Russian literature at the University of London Mirsky published his landmark study A History of Russian Literature From Its Beginnings to 1880 Vladimir Nabokov has called it the best history of Russian literature in any language including Russian 2 This work was followed with the Contemporary Russian Literature 1881 1925 Mirsky was a founding member of the Eurasianist movement and the chief editor of the periodical Eurasia his own views gradually evolving toward Marxism He also is usually credited with coining the term National Bolshevism In 1931 he joined the Communist Party of Great Britain and asked Maxim Gorky if he could procure his pardon by Soviet authorities The permission to return to the USSR was granted him in 1932 On seeing him off to Russia Virginia Woolf wrote in her diary that soon there ll be a bullet through your head 3 Return to Russia edit nbsp Mirsky after arrest in 1937 Mirsky returned to Russia in September 1932 4 Five years later during the Great Purge Mirsky was arrested by the NKVD Mirsky s arrest may have been caused by a chance meeting with his friend the British historian E H Carr who was visiting the Soviet Union in 1937 5 Carr stumbled into Prince Mirsky on the streets of Leningrad modern Saint Petersburg Russia and despite Prince Mirsky s best efforts to pretend not to know him Carr persuaded his old friend to have lunch with him 6 Since this was at the height of the Yezhovshchina and any Soviet citizen who had any unauthorised contact with a foreigner was likely to be regarded as a spy the NKVD arrested Mirsky as a British spy 6 In April 1937 he was denounced in the journal Literaturnaya Gazeta as a filthy Wrangelist and White Guard officer 7 He died in one of the gulag labour camps near Magadan in June 1939 and was buried on the 7th of that month 3 He was rehabilitated in 1962 Although his magnum opus was eventually published in Russia Mirsky s reputation in his native country remains sparse Korney Chukovsky gives a lively portrait of Mirsky in his diary entry for 27 January 1935 I liked him enormously the vast erudition the sincerity the literary talent the ludicrous beard and ludicrous bald spot the suit which though made in England hung loosely on him shabby and threadbare the way he had of coming out with a sympathetic ee ee ee like a guttural piglet squeal after each sentence you uttered it was all so amusing and endearing Though he had very little money he s a staunch democrat he did inherit his well born ancestors gourmandise His stomach will be the ruin of him Every day he leaves his wretched excuse for a cap and overcoat with the concierge and goes into the luxurious restaurant of the Hotel National in Moscow spending no less than forty rubles on a meal since he drinks as well as eats plus four to tip the waiter and one to tip the concierge 8 Criticism editMalcolm Muggeridge who met Mirsky after his return to the USSR apparently met one of the author s critics a French correspondent to Russia named Luciani who had this to say of Mirsky Mirsky had pulled off the unusual feat of managing to be a parasite under three regimes as a prince under Czarism as a professor under Capitalism and as an homme de lettres under Communism On the other hand Muggeridge himself said that he was glad to be his protege 9 George Orwell was highly critical of The Intelligentsia of Great Britain 10 but Tariq Ali had a more favourable assessment of this book 11 Selected publications editAnthology of Russian poetry 1924 Modern Russian Literature 1925 Pushkin 1926 A History of Russian Literature From Its Beginnings to 1900 in two volumes 1926 1927 repr Knopf 1958 Northwestern University Press 1999 Contemporary Russian Literature From 1881 to 1925 1926 A History of Russia 1928 Lenin London Holme Press 1931 Russia A Social History 1931 The Intelligentsia of Great Britain 1935 originally in Russian translated by the author to English Anthology of Modern English Poetry 1937 in Russian published during Mirsky s arrest without acknowledgment of his authorship nbsp Bookcover of the biography of Dmitry MirskyReferences edit The strange case of D S Mirsky Hilton Kramer The New Criterion January 2002 Retrieved 25 February 2016 Gerald Stanton Smith 2000 D S Mirsky A Russian English Life 1890 1939 Oxford University Press p 295 ISBN 978 0 19 816006 9 a b Ascherson Neal 8 March 2001 Baleful Smile of the Crocodile London Review of Books 23 5 9 10 Roberts I W 1991 History of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies 1915 1990 London School of Slavonic and East European Studies p 29 ISBN 978 0903425230 Jonathan Haslam The Vices of Integrity E H Carr 1892 1982 London New York Verso 1999 p 76 a b Haslam The Vices of Integrity p 76 Conquest R 1971 The Great Terror Harmondsworth Middlesex Penguin p 446 Kornei Chukovsky Diary 1901 1969 Yale University Press 2005 ISBN 0 300 10611 4 p 313 Muggeridge Malcolm Tread Softly for you Tread on My Jokes ISBN 0002118041 p 33 Orwell George The Road to Wigan Pier Ali Tariq The Coming British RevolutionFurther reading editGerald Stanton Smith D S Mirsky A Russian English Life 1890 1939 Oxford University Press 2000 ISBN 0 19 816006 2 Nina Lavroukine et Leonid Tchertkov D S Mirsky profil critique et bibliographique Paris Intitut d Etudes Slaves 1980 110 pages 6 planches hors texte ISBN 2 7204 0164 1 French language External links editContemporary Russian Literature 1881 1925 Full View HathiTrust Digital Library Red Prince a Radio Liberty publication in Russian Works by D S Mirsky at LibriVox public domain audiobooks nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title D S Mirsky amp oldid 1219036886, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
