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Roman Gulʹ papers

 Collection
Call Number: GEN MSS 90

Scope and Contents

The Roman Gul' Papers document not only the life and work of Roman Borisovich Gul', but also provide insight into the lives and activities of his Russian contemporaries, countrymen, and friends. The papers focus on Gul's public career as founder and editor of Narodnaia pravda, as secretary and editor of Novyi zhurnal, as radio broadcaster and scriptwriter, as public citizen and author. While the materials of this collection span the dates 1881-1966, papers from the years 1950-65 form the most valuable part. In 1965, when Gul' was recuperating from a heart attack, he began to think seriously about his retirement and decided to sell his papers.

The collection is grouped into seven series. Series I, Correspondence, fills twenty-six boxes and contains primarily business correspondence, but also some personal and professional letters. Series II, Writings, consists of twenty-four boxes containing writings and some poems of the authors intended for Narodnaia pravda and Novyi zhurnal. Series III, Subject Files, fills twenty-one boxes. It houses the correspondence of the subscribers of Narodnaia pravda, the papers of the five Russian political organizations, and Roman Gul's scripts for the Voice of America and Radio Liberty. Series IV contains seven boxes of books, pamphlets, and serials that were part of Gul's and his wife's library. Three boxes are filled with fragile clippings. Series V consists of three boxes of photographs of individuals and groups, photographs of portraits, and an album. Gul's personal papers are housed in one box in Series VI. The two boxes of Series VII contain a variety of miscellaneous papers.

Series I, Correspondence , contains incoming correspondence from hundreds of people, outgoing correspondence of Gul' (and sometimes his wife), and correspondence of others, especially of M. M. Karpovich.

This series, the largest in the collection, contains over twelve thousand letters. Correspondents reside in the United States, West Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Spain, Italy, Poland, Lithuania, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Israel, Australia, Japan, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Algeria, and the Soviet Union. Written by people from different walks of life, the letters touch a wide variety of subjects. Displaced persons, writing mostly between 1947 and 1953, describe personal tragedies, illnesses, struggles for survival, fears, and rare moments of joy, as political changes and changes in the map of Europe re-shape their existence. They remembered life in the Soviet Union, but they also dreamed about a better future. The letters of the "old" emigrants, those who had lived outside the Soviet Union since World War I, present a similar picture. Some letters are related to Narodnaia pravda and many more to Novyi zhurnal, mostly written by the authors of the writings.

The correspondence contains only a handful of family letters. Thirty letters were written by Gul's mother, Ol'ga Sergeevna, to Roman and his brother Sergei from the Soviet Union in 1920-21. Another thirty letters were written by Gul's nanny Anna Grigor'evna Buldakova to Roman and Sergei from the Soviet Union, in 1929-31, after she returned there from Berlin.

The correspondence presents a list of well-known Russian figures and of many ordinary people. Some of the best known are G. Adamovich, IU. P. Annenkov, N. N. Berberova, I. A. Bunin, D. J. Dallin, and A. V. and T. Fessenko. Other prominent émigré correspondents include I. Guzenko, G. V. Ivanov, M. M. Karpovich, A. F. Kerenskii, G. Ivask, V. L. Korvin-Piotrovskii, and Józef Mackiewicz. Among other correspondents are S. P. Mel'gunov, B. I. Nicolaevsky, I. A. Odoevtseva, IU. V. Ofrosimov, Aleksis Rannit, V. B. Stankevich, M. TSvetaeva, N. V. Vol'skii (pseud. Valentinov), B. Zaitsev, and V. M. Zenzinov.

The correspondence with subscribers to the newspapers Narodnaia pravda is located in the Series III, Subject Files. Additional correspondence can sometimes be found in other parts of the collection.

As editor of Narodnaia pravda and of Novyi zhurnal, Gul' received many works written by others. Series II, Writings (Boxes 27-50), contains seventy items by some fifty authors for Narodnaia pravda, and over 500 submissions for Novyi zhurnal written by 255 authors. Sixty-eight poems by fifty poets are also included as are fifteen works assigned neither to Narodnaia pravda nor Novyi zhurnal. There is also one box of unidentified writings for Narodnaia pravda.

Only a handful of the more than 600 manuscripts submitted were ever published. All the writings are in Russian, except one in English, and one in Serbian. Some of the well-known writers represented are: IU. P. Annenkov, N. N. Berberova, P. A. Berlin, I. A. Bunin, Z. N. Gippius, G. Ivask, V. L. Korvin-Piotrovskii, M. I. Nil'skii, I. V. Odoevtseva, A. Rannit, I. S. Shmelov, E. Tauber, N. N. Vol'skii, B. Zaitsev, and V. M. Zenzinov. They write on a number of subjects, including life under the Soviet regime, living conditions in the Soviet villages, the fate of "Vlasovtsy," the Jewish question in Russia, Lenin, Russians in the German army, Russians in Czechoslovakia, collectivization, extermination of Polish partisans by the Soviets, Russian Masons, capitalism, and socialism. The topics for Narodnaia pravda and Novyi zhurnal are similar. Those for Narodnaia pravda also discuss Russian political parties, the efforts of the unification of those organizations, World War II, the Russian/Ukranian nationalities question, victims of the Soviet regime, Stalin, and other topics.

Among the poets are such names as K. O. Bal'mont, I. A. Bunin, T. Fessenko, Z. N. Gippius, I. V. Odoevtseva, V. B. Stankevich, and M. TSvetaeva. Only a few articles by Gul' are included among these manuscripts.

Series III, Subject Files , fills twenty-one boxes. The papers are grouped in three subseries: correspondence of the subscribers of Narodnaia pravda, Russian political organizations, and radioscripts.

The correspondence of the subscribers to Narodnaia pravda is located in Boxes 51-52 and contains approximately 660 letters from the years 1948-52. The subscriptions flowed in from almost all corners of the noncommunist world. An additional box contains various papers related to Narodnaia pravda, such as financial statements covering the years 1948-53.

After World War II, Gul' took an active part in the political life of Russian émigrés, first in Paris and later in New York. The material on Russian organizations, with its strong political focus, forms an important part of the collection. These papers, housed in Boxes 54-60, are arranged by organization.

In the late forties, the idea emerged, supported by the "American Committee for the Freedom for the Peoples of the USSR" [For more information consult: Sig Mickelson, America's Other Voice (New York: Praeger, 1983)] that if the politically divided Russian emigration could unite to form one strong political center, they could fight more effectively for the liberation of their homeland and against the communist dictatorship.

The four basic organizations in question, represented in the collection, are:

Liga bor'by za narodnuiu svobodu (The League of Struggle for Peoples Freedom - "Liga" for short), founded in New York in March of 1949, by a group of "old" and "new" Russian emigrants, among them D. J. Dallin, V. M. Zenzinov, A. F. Kerenskii, and B. A. Konstantinovskii. The material is housed in Boxes 54-56.

Natsional'no - trudovoi soiuz (The National Labor Alliance, or Russian Solidarist Movement - NTS) had its headquarters in Limburg-Lahn, Germany. This movement goes back to 1924, but its most important activities began in 1932. The papers are contained in one box.

Russiiskoe narodnoe dvizhenie (The Russian Peoples Movement - Narodniki - RND) was founded by Gul' in Paris, in 1948. Later it joined the Liga, but split off again and renewed its activities in October 1951. The papers fill two boxes.

Soiuz bor'by za osvobozhdenie narodov Rossii (The Union of Struggle for Liberation of Peoples of Russia - SBONR), first formed as Osvoboditel'noe dvizhenie (Vlasovtsy, 1943-45), renewed its activities in 1947-48.

These organizations, joined by others, tried to form one political entity - Soviet osvobozhdeniia narodov Rossii (The Council for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia - SNOR), and also to organize radio transmissions behind the Iron Curtain. The Political Organizations subseries provides an extensive documentation of efforts to achieve this goal through a series of meetings. The unification efforts failed and by June 1953 the talks had collapsed.

The radio broadcasting papers (Boxes 61-71) are equally important. After Gul's arrival in the United States, he wrote scripts for the Voice of America in 1950-51, and then for Radio Liberty, from September 1952 to March 1956. From April 1956 until April 1966, he acted as an editor for Radio Liberty.

The first box contains a miscellany of evaluations, suggestions, and criticism of the programs and scripts. The scripts for the Voice of America occupy two boxes. Subjects dicussed include: Stalin's article praising Trotsky, Stalin's speech at the Teheran conference about the American war industry, Gromyko's speech, the first displaced persons transport arriving at New York on June 25, 1948, Soviet aggression in Finland, and American help for the hungry in the Soviet Union in 1921-22.

The Radio Liberty scripts fill eight boxes. Supplemental information can be found in Series VII, Box 86, folder 2069, under "American Committee." Gul' grouped the scripts in eleven series under the headings: "Nashe demokraticheskoe nasledstvo" (Our Democratic Heritage), "Rossiia na zapade" (Russia in the West), "Sovremennaia russkaia literatura" (Russian Contemporary Literature), "Zaria svobody" (Dawn of Liberty), "Zarubezhnaia russkaia literatura" (Russian Émigré Literature), "O svobode naroda" (About The Liberty of the Nation), "Oktiabrskaia kontr-revoliutsiia" (October Counter-Revolution), "Pis'ma na rodinu" (Letters to the Homeland), "Problemy ideologii" (Ideology Problems), "Russkaia svobodnaia mysl'" (Russian Free Thoughts), and "Zapretnye stranitsy" (Forbidden Pages). Most of the scripts were written by Gul'. Subjects discussed include freedom of the press, freedom of expression, liberalism and Russian liberals, Russian democrats, Soviet and émigré magazines and newspapers, Soviet propaganda, strikes and the right to strike, peasant questions, dictatorship and legality, Russian and Soviet writers, poets, émigré inventors, scientists, philosophers, composers, and musicians, the Duma, excerpts of articles from Novyi zhurnal, historical events, the NKVD, the Soviet judicial system, attorneys and courts, political trials, the October Revolution, Lenin, and Kerensky's provisional government.

Series IV, Printed Works (Boxes 72-76), contains fifty-seven books and pamphlets. They are all in Russian, except for one in English and another in French. The works were published between 1879 and 1964 and come from the private collection of Gul' and his wife. Prominent authors represented in the series include IU. P. Annenkov, Maksim Gorky, I. S. Turgenev, V. Voskresenskii, and I. A. Sikorskii.

Serials (Boxes 77-78), include twenty-eight alphabetically arranged titles published between 1913 and 1966. The most valuable are: Zhizn', Sovremennyezapiski, Posev, and a complete set of Narodnaia pravda. The purpose of Narodnaia pravda was to attract the support of the "new" Russian emigrants in the battle against communism.

The clippings (around 640, sometimes extremely fragile items, in Boxes 79-81) include articles on a variety of subjects, such as biographies, necrologies, book reviews, and "Vlasovtsy," Russian political organizations (RND, Liga, SONR). They are mostly in Russian, but folders 1933-34 contain clippings in other languages.

Series V, Photographs , is housed in three boxes. Boxes 82-83 contain photographs of individuals (43 items) and of groups (48). Box 84 houses five photocopies of "Portraits," thirteen of "Places and Others," and one album. The album, containing 22 photographs (21 with prisoners, and one view) of a Czarist labor camp in Siberia, belonged to V. M. Zenzinov. A terrorist in his youth, Zenzizov was a member of the Socialist Revolutionary party who financially supported the Bolshevik Revolution, but in 1919 he emigrated. Included are autographed photographs of I. S. Turgenev and Z. N. Gippius, photos of émigré writers and poets (G. V. Ivanov, D. S. Merezhkovskii, V. L. Korvin-Piotrovskii, IU. V. Ofrosimov and I. V. Odoevtseva), of editors of Novaia russkaia kniga (A. S. IAshchenko), of Nakanune (B. Diushen), and of Russkaia mysl' (S. A. Vodov), of Soviet writers and poets (K. A. Fedin, N. N. Nikitin, B. A. Pilniak, and E. Evtushenko), of A. N. Tolstoi (who returned to the Soviet Union), and of R. Khodziev, adjutant of Gen. L. G. Kornilov. A photograph of M. A. Kharuzin, the murderer of the Gen. Romanovskii, is housed in Series VII, Box 86, folder 2075.

One box of Gul's Personal Paperscomprise Series VI , which includes documents in German related to Gul's 1961 efforts to obtain indemnification from the West German government for his confinement in 1933; correspondence in English and French related to his temporary employment with London Film Productions, Inc. in 1936-37; correspondence with the Office international Nansen pour réfugiés in Paris concerning visas that would allow his family in Berlin to emigrate to France; some bills from the International Broadcasting Division of the United States Department of State for Gul's script-writing for the Voice of America; and some correspondence and documents in Russian related to his Masonic episode. The series also contains a few reviews of Gul's works, a handful of articles, and his 1935 curriculum vitae written in Paris.

Series VII, Special Files , contains two boxes of papers on a variety of subjects. The first folder concerns the American Committee for the Freedom for the Peoples of the USSR, Inc. Chartered in Delaware in 1948, this group was closely associated with the Russian political organizations and Radio Liberty in opposition to the Soviet Union and is of paramount importance to the Roman Gul' papers.

Box 86, folders 2070-75, "The Cases," concern Gul's personal relationships with others and his eagerness to collect as much information as possible about certain people. There are letters, answers, testimonies, and clippings about D. J. Dallin (problems Liga/AC/SONR); Sergei Gavlich (supposed Cheka agent); and the case of Gul'/Mel'gunov/TSurikov. One folder contains information about A. F. Kerenskii. Another contains documents about M. A. Kharuzin, the murderer of the Gen. I. P. Romanovskii. The next twenty-six folders contain the curricula vitae of such individuals as D. J. Dallin, N. N. Evreinov, I. A. Kurganov, V. Lebedev, and V. B. Stankevich. Folder 2106 contains sketches of anti-communist posters drawn by N. F. Mishatkin.

The Roman Gul' Papers cover a wide range of issues and contain a great deal of information on Gul's life, his activities, friendships, and difficult relationships with others. The achievements, failures, and thoughts of Russian émigrés, the history of Russian emigration, and the development and growth of Novyi zhurnal are documented. The papers are also an important resource for the history of Russian political organizations, their activities, their goals, the reasons for their failure to unify, and their connections to the American Committee. The writings provide considerable insight into Russian émigré literary and political thought, opinion, and ideas, and the materials selected or rejected for publication reveal Gul's own editorial preferences, taste, and political views.

Dates

  • 1879 - 1966

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The Roman Gul' Papers are the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library and The Slavic and East European Collections acquired the Roman Gul's archives in 1967, paying for it jointly with Library Associates, Slavic, and Slavic Archives funds.

Extent

30 Linear Feet (82 boxes)

Language of Materials

Russian

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/beinecke.romangul

Overview

The Roman Gulʹ Papers consist of correspondence, writings, personal papers, photographs, and files documenting the literary and political life of Roman Gulʹ and his contemporaries.

ROMAN BORISOVICH GUL' (1896-1986)

"Nel'zia ob"iat' neob'iatnoe ("There are limits") [Roman Gul', IA unes Rossiiu (New York: Most, 1981), I, 4.]

Roman Borisovich Gul' was a prolific and successful Russian writer, an editor, journalist, chronicler, political activist, consummate craftsman of words and a master in the descriptions of human emotions and traumatic experiences, a scenarist, radio broadcaster and scriptwriter, who occasionally held such positions as woodcutter, glass factory worker, and farmer, and who was even a temporary resident of the German concentration camp Oranienburg.

Gul' was born in Kiev on August 1, 1896, the younger son of Boris Karlovich Gul', a jurist and a prosperous notary, who died in Penza in 1913 when Gul' was seventeen years old. His mother, Ol'ga Sergeevna born Vysheslavtseva, was the daughter of Sergei Petrovich Vysheslavtsev and Mar'ia Petrovna born Efremova. She descended from impoverished gentry. Gul's mother died in the southwest of France in 1938. Gul' describes his father's death and pays tribute to his mother's memory in his book Kon' ryzhii ("The Red Horse") as well as in his memoirs. In the same sources there are descriptions of how his mother and his nanny ("niania" Ana Grigor'evna Buldakova) arrived in Berlin in 1921 after a dangerous, 400-kilometer journey from Kiev to Warsaw on foot. They crossed the Russian-Polish border illegally and traveled from Warsaw to Berlin by train. Sergei, Gul's older brother by a year and a half, died in 1945 in the southwest of France, leaving behind his wife and son Mikhail.

Gul' grew up in Penza where he graduated from the Pervaia muzheskaia gimnaziia (high school) in 1914. He then enrolled in the University of Moscow, where he studied law and developed a great interest in philosophy. He was forced, however, to terminate his studies during World War I because he was drafted and sent to a military school. After graduating from officer's school in October 1916, he served, among other assignments, on the Austro-Hungarian front. He was later discharged from his duties by his commander. With false identity papers he and his brother Sergei voluntarily joined Kornilov's (later Denikin's) Dobrovol'cheskaia armiia (The Volunteer Army) in the south on the Don, in order to fight against the Bolsheviks in November 1917. In 1918, Roman and Sergei took part in the famous Ledianoi pokhod (The Ice March) and were wounded. Disappointed in the White movement, they left the army and in August 1918 journeyed to Kiev. Again mobilized, they fought for a short time. After they surrendered, they were transported to Germany as prisoners of war, crossing the German border on January 3, 1919.

In Germany, Roman and Sergei were transferred from one officers' prison camp to another (Altman, Claustahl, Neustadt, Helmsted, Bad Blenhorst, etc.). The brothers were released after writing to the Russian Military Mission in Berlin explaining that they had refused to participate in Russian civil war for political and emotional reasons and because of the atrocities, the executions, and the destruction that took place. Gul' also maintained that he was unable to kill another Russian. Their release marked the beginning of their emigrant status; they settled in Berlin, an important Russian refugee center.

In the prison camp, Gul' began his first literary work, his memoirs of the Ice March. It was completed and published in Berlin in 1921. Gul's "vzdokhi" (laments) about the "bratoubiistvennoi voine" (fratricidal war) provoked mixed reactions.

In Berlin, Gul' worked with a group called Mir i trud, (founded by Vladimir Benediktovich Stankevich), on their short-lived biweekly magazine Zhizn', and on the newspapers Golos Rosii and Vremia. He also served as editor for the literary supplement of a daily newspaper Nakanune (July 1923-June 1924), and as secretary of the bibliographical magazine Novaiarusskaia kniga. He later secured a job with the German publishing firm Taurus and continued to write articles and publish books. Gul's ties with the newspaper Nakanune caused his expulsion from the Association of Russian writers, because it was a publication of Smenovekhovtsy, a new political group comprised of some Russian émigrés and some Soviet citizens. They believed that the New Economic Policy (NEP, 1921-28) adopted by the Soviet government meant the liquidation of the Communist Revolution and probable reconciliation with the Soviets.

Gul' married Ol'ga Andreevna Novokhatskaia on July 27, 1926. She was born in Russia on January 23, 1898. During this union of nearly fifty years, she was Gul's best friend, companion, supporter, and defender. They had no children.

In Berlin, Gul' met and associated with many people, including such Soviet writers as Konstantin Aleksandrovich Fedin and Nikolai Nikolaevich Nikitin. Their photographs, together with Gul', are in the collection. At the same time, Gul' published three books in the Soviet Union.

Around 1930, the Gul' family built a small house on the outskirts of Berlin. One of Gul's books, General Bo, was printed in Berlin in 1929 and later published there in several languages. The German version, translated by F. Frish in 1930, was entitled BorisSavinkov; der Roman eines Terroristen at the suggestion of publisher Paul Zsolnay. After Hitler came to power, the book caught the attention of the Nazis and, on July 13, 1933, Gul' was arrested on suspicion of being a terrorist and incarcerated at the nearby Oranienburg concentration camp. Released approximately three weeks later, his recollections of this brief but painful experience were described in his book Oranienburg.

In order to avoid further harrassment from the Nazis, Gul' and his wife fled to France in September 1933, leaving his mother, his brother Sergei, his wife, and their child Misha behind. Gul's nanny had returned to the Soviet Union in 1926 where she most probably perished during the forced collectivization. Her letters from the Soviet Union are in the collection. The Gul's remained in France until 1950.

In Paris, Gul' concentrated on writing. Krasnyemarshaly, which was later translated into French, German, Swedish, Polish, Czech, Finnish, and Latvian, was published in Berlin. In Paris, Gul' also published articles in Illustrovannaia Rossiia, Illustrovannaiazhizn', and Poslednie novosti, Sovremennye zapiski. With the help of B. I. Nicolaevsky, he attempted to bring the rest of the family from Germany.

Gul' travelled to London for six weeks in 1936-37 to become a technical advisor for Jack Feyder's and Alexander Korda's film The Knight Without Armour, starring Marlene Dietrich. During stay in London, his family arrived in France.

Gul' and his family moved from Paris to the southwest of France in 1937. Already at the beginning of 1937, on Sergei's insistence, they purchased a small farm, "Petit Caumont," near Nérac, in the département of Lot et Garonne. It was called playfully "Château de la Misère". Gul's mother died there in 1938. They later leased a bigger farm near Viane, and afterwards another, called "Pailles." Due to insufficient funds, Gul' and his wife found it necessary to seek employment in a glass factory. Their stay in the southwest of France until the end of World War II saved them from the Germans, who were still in pursuit of Gul', because of Oranienburg. They never learned of his whereabouts in occupied France.

Gul' described these years of isolation from friends, acquaintances, and literary work: "And we are completely lost in this world. No one, absolutely no one needs us. No one is interested in our fate. Yes, and no one even could be interested . . . And you, an emigrant, with a particular force, you perceive to what degree no one needs you, absolutely no one . . . [and] the complete unfriendliness of the country which surrounds you, is a heavy burden. And understandable only to you, to an emigrant who has been this "foreign body", this "foreign" splinter in a foreign nation . . ." [Roman Gul', "IA unes Rossiiu," Novyi zhurnal, 157 (December, 1984), 22-23.]

After the war, the Gul's sold their farm and ventured to Paris, later traveling to West Germany where he contacted newly displaced Russians. He heard their horrifying stories and, on occasion, took notes. He could easily identify with their fears, insecurities, and problems.

Prior to World War II, Gul' was a member of the Russian Masonic lodge "Svobodnaia Rossiia." After the war, he became a member of the Russian lodge "Jupiter." When he learned, however, that the lodge was not open to criticism of the Soviet Union, he resigned. Gul's Masonic experiences are eloquently detailed in his memoirs.

In 1948, Gul' founded a Russian political organization "Russkoe narodnoe dvizhenie," as well as the monthly newspaper Narodnaia pravda. He attracted many supporters from the new emigration. Narodnaia pravda lasted from 1948 to 1951. The newspaper survived as long as Gul' and Nicolaevsky maintained good political relations.

In February 1950, Gul' and his wife moved to New York. The period between 1950 and 1965 is well documented and constitutes the nucleus of Roman Gul' Papers. The papers also reflect upon the lives, work, and activities of other refugees, as well as those of Russian political organizations and of Radio Liberty, forming a dense and detailed political commentary on the community.

In New York, Gul' immediately incorporated himself into the mainstream of Russian literary and political life. On March 13, 1949, "Liga bor'by za narodnuiu svobodu" had been founded in New York by a group that included A. F. Kerenskii and V. M. Zenzinov. They published a biweekly bulletin Gradushchaia Rossiia, a supplement of Novoe russkoe slovo. Gul' continued his involvement in "Liga," and his own group, "Russkoe narodnoe dvizhenie" merged with it in March 1949, when Gul' realized that the two groups had common goals. In July 1951, however, Gul' and others accused the "Liga" of betraying the objectives of fighting against communism and regaining the independence of the peoples of Russia. Gul', along with others, terminated his membership. The "Russkoe narodnoe dvizhenie" renewed its work. In the interim, Gul' also threatened to leave the "PEN Club Centre for Writers in Exile" because of their apparent cooperation with the communists.

Almost immediately after his arrival in New York, and at the invitation of Professor M. M. Karpovich, Gul' joined the ranks of Novyizhurnal, a quarterly published in Russian and distributed in thirty-four countries. The aim of this journal, founded in 1942 by M. A. TSetlin and M. A. Aldanov, was to disseminate Russian culture and to provide opportunity for Russian writers to publish. Gul' became secretary of Novyi zhurnal in 1952. After Karpovich's death in 1959, Gul' became a member of the editorial board and later assumed the position of editor-in-chief. The unpublished material and correspondence related to Novyi zhurnal form a voluminous and invaluable part of the Gul's papers. Gul's involvement with the quarterly continued until his death in June 1986.

Besides the Novyi zhurnal, he became involved in "Voice of America" radio broadcasts, writing occasional scripts for this program in 1950-51. In September 1952 he joined Radio Liberation, later called Radio Liberty. For several years he wrote his own scripts, most of which are in the collection. Beginning in March 1956, he edited scripts of others. Gul' found this work to be strenuous and tiring, but interesting. According to the information available, he held this position until April 1966.

At this time Gul's financial situation improved, thus affording him and his wife the opportunity to travel. When they received the news of his sister-in-law's death in 1956, they decided to return to France and to travel throughout Europe. That same year, Gul' and his wife became naturalized citizens of the United States. Gul' later, on his own, journeyed to Greece and Israel, and together with his wife, made another trip to Europe in 1962.

Gul's responsibilities, activities, and work began to take their toll. He complained of being tired and overworked. He lacked the time to engage in leisure activities, became physically exhausted, and, in the fall of 1964, suffered a heart attack. Despite illness, he continued to write and remained the "heart" of Novyi zhurnal. In 1970 he was awarded the honorary title of "Writer in Residence of the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at New York University," for his outstanding service in the field of Russian émigré literature.

In April 1976 Gul's wife died, and the following year he began his memoirs, where he says: "And now. I am very old. I am writing this book because I would like to tell the story of my life to a person very close to me. But whom I, absolutely, do not know . . . But I will, some day, find such a friend. And he will be intrigued by my strange life - in many countries, with a great variety of occupations . . . And I would like to tell him how I, once upon a time, lived almost my whole life as a Russian émigré rolling stone . . ." [Ibid., 9.]

The material of the first two volumes of his memoirs and a small portion of the third appeared as a sequel in the publications of Novyi zhurnal. The first two volumes were published individually while the third will appear posthumously.

Reminiscing alone, Gul' asks himself: "How and why did I, together with my wife wind up here? As a matter of fact, I don't know . . . I remember . . . the skyscraped shores of New York's dock . . . in violet dusk. All this I remember. But, really, why am I here? Who needs me here? And why should I die, of all places, in America? . . . Mais ne cherchez pas à comprendre . . ." [Ibid., 11.]

Gul' was a complex human being: multifaceted, hardworking, energetic, learned, sometimes unpredictable and pitiless in his criticism, simple in his profound feelings, gifted in verbal expression, individualistic and freedom-loving. He died on June 30, 1986 in St. Luke's Hospital in New York City. He was buried next to his wife, Ol'ga Andreevna, in the cemetery of the monastery Novo-Diveevo, Spring Valley, N.Y.

Separated Materials

Books listed in Series IV. Printed Works, formerly housed in boxes 72-76, and the bulk of the serials formerly housed in boxes 77-78, have been removed and individually cataloged. They are accessible in Orbis, the Yale University Library Catalog.

Appendix I: Gul's Published Books

Azef. Translated from the Russian by Mirra Ginsburg. Garden City, N. Y.: Doubleday, 1962.

Azef; istoricheskii roman. [Izd. 3-e]. New York: Most, 1959. Published originally under title: General Bo.

Azef; istoricheskii roman. Izd. 4., ispr. New York: Most, 1974.

Azeff. Translated from Russian into Japanese by Noboru Kanzaki. Tokyo: Kavado Shabo, 1960. (2 eds.)

Belye po chernomu. Moskva: Gos. izd-vo, 1928.

Belye po chernomu. Moskva: Gos. izd-vo, 1928. Microfilm copy (negative) made by the Joint University Libraries Photoduplication Service [1971]

Chitaia "Avgust chetyrnadtsatogo" A. I. Solzhenitsyna. New York: Izd-vo Rausen Publishers, 1971

Dzerzhinskii. (Menzhinskii-Peters-Latsis-IAgoda.) Parizh: [Imp. de Navarre, c1936]

Dzerzhinskii; nachalo terrora. Izd. 2., ispr. New York: Most, 1974.

[Dzerzhinskii. French] Les maetres de la TchTka; histoire de la terreur en U.R.S.S., 1917-1938. Traduit du russe. Paris: Les +ditions de France, c1938.

General Bo, roman. [Izd. 1-e] Berlin: Petropolis [1929] 2v.

General Bo; roman. Izd. 2-e. Berlin: Petropolis [1929] 1v.

General Bo. Authorized translation by L. Zarine; ed. by Stephen Graham. [1st Eng. ed.] London: Ernest Benn Limited, 1930.

[General Bo. English] Provocateur. A Historical Novel of the Russian Terror. Authorized translation by L. Zarine. ed. with an introduction by Stephen Graham. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1931.

[General Bo. French] Lanceurs de bombes. Azef. Taduit par N. Guterman. [Paris]: Gallimard, 1930.

[General Bo. German] Boris Sawinkow; der Roman eines Terroristen. Autorisierte _bersetzung von F. Frisch. Berlin; Wien; Leipzig: Paul Zsolnay Verlag, 1930.

[General Bo. Lithuanian] Sprogstancios Bombos. Romanas. Kaunas: P. Kezinaitis, 1932.

[General Bo. Polish] General Bo; powiesc. Przelozyla z rosyjskiego Halina Pilichowska. Warszawa: Towarystwo Wydawnicze "R=j", 1933.

[General Bo. Polish] General Bo.[Z rosyjskiego tlumaczyla Halina Pilichowska. 1. wyd. Warszawa:] Ksiazka i wiedza, 1958. (Reprinted without the author's knowledge and approval).

[General Bo. Spanish] Los lanzadores de bombas. Azef. Savinkov. Traducido por Amando Lazaro y Ros. Madrid: Zevs Editorial, 1931.

IA unes Rossiiu: apologiia emigratsii. New York: Most, 1981- Contents: t.1. "Rossiia v Germanii". t.2. "Rossiia vo Frantsii".

K voprosu ob "avtokefalii". Pis'mo A. I. Solzhenitsyna Patriarchu Pimenu. New York: Izd. Avtora, 1972.

Kon' ryzhii. New York: Izd-vo im. Chekhova, 1952.

Kon' ryzhii; avtobiografia. Izd. 2-oe. New York: Most, 1975.

[Kon' Ryzhii. Spanish] El caballo rojo. [Traduccion directa del ruso por Agustfn Puig. Barcelona: Editorial Planeta, 1962]

Kotovskii -- anarkhist-marshal. Izd. 2. New York: Most, 1975. Photoreproduction of a chapter from the author's "Voroshilov... " published in Berlin in 1933[?] by Parabola.

[Krasnye marshaly] Voroshilov, Budennyi, Bliukher, Kotovskii. [Berlin]: Izd-vo Parabola [1933?]

[Krasnye marshaly] Voroshilov, Budennyi, Bliukher, Kotovskii. [Berlin]: Izd-vo Parabola [1934]. Microfilm (negative) made by the Joint University Libraries Photoduplication Service [1971]

[Krasnye marshaly. Czech] Rudf marsßlovT: Vorosilov, Budenny, Blncher, Kotovskij. Prel. V. Foch a Oleg Vojtfsek. V Praze: A. Neubert, 1934.

[Krasnye marshaly. Czech] Rudf marsßlovT: Vorosilov, Budenny, Blncher, Kotovskij. Prel. V. Foch a Oleg Vojtisek. V Praze: A. Neubert, 1934. Microfilm (negative) 4 sheets

[Krasnye marshaly. Finnish] Punaiset Marsalkat. Svomentanut K. M. Wallenius. Otava: HelsingissS Kustannusosa-Keyhti÷, 1936.

[Krasnye marshaly. French] Les grands chefs de l'armTe soviTtique; traduit du russe par J. Civel. Paris: +ditions Berger-Levrault, 1935.

[Krasnye marshaly. French] Les grands chefs de l'armTe soviTtique; traduit du russe por J. Civel. Paris: +ditions Berger-Levrault, 1935. Photocopy. New Haven, Yale University Library, 1976.

[Krasnye marshaly. German] Die roten MarschSlle. Berlin: Obelisk Verlag, 1933.

[Krasnye marshaly. Latvian] Kaujas organizScijas generSlis, romans. Ar autora atlauju tulkojis Valdis Grdvins. [Riga: A. Gulbis], 1930.

[Krasnye marshaly. Polish] Czerwoni dow=dcy. Warszawa: Towarystwo Wydawnicze "R=j", 1934.

[Krasnye marshaly. Swedish] De R÷da Morskalkarna. Helsingfors: S÷derstr÷m Co., 1936.

Ledianoi pokhod. (S Kornilovym). Berlin: S. Efron, 1921.

Ledianoi pokhod. (S Kornilovym). Predislovie N. L. Meshcherakova. Moskva; Petrograd: Gos. izd-vo, 1923.

Lenin i "Arkhipelag GULag. N'iu Iork, 1973. Ottisk stat'i iz 115 knigi Novogo zhurnala.

Odvukon'; sovetskaia i emigrantskaia literatura. New York: Most, 1973.

Odvukon' dva. New York: Izd-vo "Most", 1982.

Oranienburg; chto ia videl v gitlerovskom kontsentratsionnom lagere. Paris [1937]

Pol v tvorchestve. razbor proizvedenii Andreia Belogo. Berlin: Manfred, 1923.

Pol v tvorchestve. razbor proizvedenii A. Belogo. Berlin: Manfred, 1923. Microfilm copy (negative) made by the Joint University Libraries Photoduplication Service [1971]

Skif; roman. Berlin: Petropolis [1931]

Skif v Evrope, Bakunin i Nikolai I. New York: Izd-vo Most, 1958. Rev. ed. of Skif published in 1931.

[Skif] Bakunin; istoricheskaia khronika. Izd. 3. New York: Most, 1974. First ed. published in 1931 under title: Skif. Rev. ed. published in 1958 under title: Skif v Evrope.

Solzhenitsyn: stat'i. New York: Most, 1976, c1975.

Tovarishch Ivan; p'esa v 3-kh aktakh i 9-i kartinakh. New York: Most, 1968.

[Tovarisch Ivan] Comrade Ivan; a play in 3 acts. Translated by Elizabeth Reynolds Hapgood. New York: Most, 1969.

Tukhachevskii, krasnyi marshal. Berlin: Izd-vo "Parabola" [1932]

Tukhachevskii, krasnyi marshal. Berlin: Izd-vo "Parabola" [1932]. Microfilm (negative) made by the Joint University Libraries Photoduplication Service [1971]

[Tukhachevskii. French] Toukhatchevsky, MarTchal rouge. Traduit du russe par J. Civel. Paris: Edgar MalfFre, 1935.

V rozsieian'i sushchie; povest' iz zhizni emigratsii, 1920-1921. Berlin: Manfred, 1923.

V rozsieian'i sushchie; povest' iz zhizni emigratsii,1920-1921. Berlin: Manfred, 1923. Microfilm (negative) made by the Joint University Libraries Photoduplication Service [1971]

Zhizn' na fuksa. Moskva; Leningrad: Gos. izd-vo, 1927.

Zhizn' na fuksa. Moskva: Gos. izd-vo, 1927. Microfilm copy.

Appendix II: The American Committee and Radio Liberty Changes in Name

(covering only the Roman Gul' Papers' years)

1951 Jan 19 American Committee for Freedom of the People of the USSR, Inc. is chartered in Delaware as a private corporation

May 22 American Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia, Inc.

1953 Mar 16 American Committee for Liberation from Bolshevism, Inc.

1956 Sep 5 Radio Liberation Committee, Inc.

1964 Jan Radio Liberty Committee, Inc.

1953 Mar 1-56Radio Liberation from Bolshevism

1956-63Radio Liberation Committee

1964-Radio Liberty Committee (for radio operations, simply used Radio Liberty)

Appendix III: Abbreviations Used

DP - displaced persons, primarily after WWII

Liga - Liga bor'by za narodnuiu svobodu

League - League of Struggle for Peoples Freedom

Mel'gunov group - Soiuz bor'by za svobodu Rossii

NKVD - Narodnyi kommisariat vnutrennikh del (People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs)=secret service

NTS - Natsional'no-trudovoi soiuz

RND - Rossiikoe narodnoe dvizhenie

SBONR - Soiuz bor'by za osvobozhdenie narodov Rossii

SONR - Soviet osvobozhdeniia narodov Rossii

Processing Information

Most of the material is in Russian. Slavic names, titles, and quotations in their original languages have been transliterated in accordance with Library of Congress guidelines. The collection does not contain the papers from the last twenty years of Gul's life, or the manuscripts of his books.
Title
Guide to the Roman Gulʹ Papers
Status
Under Revision
Author
by Halyna Lobay
Date
March 1987
Description rules
Beinecke Manuscript Unit Archival Processing Manual
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository

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