Russian Cities

[Emily Saunders]

Hello Jeremy and Ben,

At note on the Staryj Vladivostok book -- my uncle (who knows no  
Russian) had a bit more fun than was good for him reading the  
translated bits -- typical non-native translator goofs made for some  
humorous moments...

;-)

In English only there is a book that struck me as somewhat embellished  
but interesting historical account of the Decembrists' wives who  
followed their husbands into exile in Siberia, and in particular about  
Maria Volkonskaya, wife of Andrei Volkonsky.  The book as a whole  
spends most of its time talking about what they left behind and their  
initial exile experiences, but after their husbands had served their  
time they were slowly allowed back into society and into Irkutsk in  
particular.  A chapter or two from the back of the book could be  
interesting from the perspective of how the presence of these highly  
educated women affected the social structure of that city -- getting  
hospitals built, giving soirees, setting up musical societies, etc.   
The book is called:  The Princess of Siberia: The Story of Maria  
Volkonsky and the Decembrist Exiles and the author is by Christine  
Sutherland

There was also a recent publication out of Sakhalin -- a photo album  
sort of book -- that discusses the history of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk with  
reference to the period of Japanese settlement/occupation of the bottom  
half of the island.  It's called:

Южно-Сахалинск - три цвета времени/Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk - Tri tsveta  
vremeni.  I'm not sure of the author nor how to find the book (I think  
I gave our copy away as a gift...)  But bits of it together with photos  
can be found at the website:  http://3colors.sakh.com/Vladimirovka/  It  
could be interesting from the perspective of how a city changes/stays  
the same when there is a complete changeover of population from one  
nationality/ethnicity to another.  The treatment of the topic was  
fairly evenhanded if I recall rightly and the actual book (if you can  
find it) had both Russian and English text.

It seems as if there are others lurking in my memory, but eluding me  
thus far...

Emily

On Jul 4, 2007, at 5:15 PM, Jeremy Tasch wrote:

> Hi Ben,
>
> Adding to Emily Saunders' excellent suggestion, there is also the  
> hardback "Stari Vladivostok" that was put together by Primorski Krai's  
> Arseniev Museum. This book contains photos, postcards, historical docs  
> and leters, newspaper excerpts and so forth. The edition published by  
> Utro Rossii, Vlad., 1992, has the possible advantage that it is  
> published in a Russian/English edition.
>
> I have copies of both works - I would be happy to lend them to you!  
> I'll hopefully have them in hand after our move is completed from  
> Alaska to Maryland.
>
> All the best,
>
> Jeremy
>
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