Search Results: Books:Slavic Literature:Emigre from ZH BOOKS

Berlin: Slovo, 1921. Softcover. First edition; 7 x 8 1/2; pp. 227; rebound with plain black paper over stiff card stock boards; faint bookshop (?) stamp to title page; a few spots to margins, mostly to first and last few pages; light uniform age-toning; a bit of rubbing to tips of spine and corners; overall very good.Volume II of this influential White emigre journal, published between 1921 and 1937 in a total of 22 issues. It contained memoirs of notable figures as well as materials and documents pertaining to the Revolution and the Civil War. The editor, Iosif Gessen, was one of the founders and leaders of the Kadet Party (the Constitutional Democratic Party known as People’s Freedom Party). It was the chief party of the counterrevolutionary liberal-monarchist bourgeoisie in Russia and formed during the course of the Revolution of 1905. Other chief figures of the party were Vladimir Nabokov, Petr Struve, Princes Pavel and Petr Dolgorukii, and others. From 1906 to 1917, Gessen… Read More

Paris: YMCA-Press, 1971. Hardcover. Near Fine. First Russian edition; 5 1/2" x 7 3/4"; pp. [8], 9-573 + 2 maps; original plain green cloth-over-boards; silvery title to spine; very minor wear (spine very slightly cocked forward, mostly very clean); near fine. 'August 1914' was the first book in the author's epic cycle 'The Red Wheel.' Solzhenitsyn was awarded The Nobel Price for Literature in 1970 and due to his controversial works - expelled from the Soviet Union in 1974. He began gathering materials for his current novel as early as the 1930s. In the aftermath of WWII, he was arrested for spreading derogatory comments about the conduct of the war and sentenced to a term in a labor camp. He eventually finished the manuscript in late 1970. The plot was centered on the defeat of Imperial Russia at the Battle of Tannenberg in East Prussia. Provenance: From the library of Simon Karlinsky - professor emeritus of Slavic languages and literature at UC Berkeley from 1964 to… Read More

New York: Published by the Author, 1947. Softcover. First edition; 4 1/2 x 6; pp. 46; red textured wraps printed in black; small nicks to tips and a bit of wear along spine; minor age-toning along margins; very good to near fine.Ukrainian author and linguist Mikhail Zherlitsyn immigrated to the US after the Revolution. He had previously written a study of Samuel Coleridge and the English Romanticism in 1914 while still in Odessa. In 1947 in New York he published several books of short stories and poems, including the present one titled, somewhat whimsically, 'Basni' ('Fables'). One might even find them a bit morbid as the first one is named "Obituary" and tells the story, in rhymes, of two violinists - a man and a monkey - who catch a cold while playing and die.

New York/Paris/Riga/Harbin: Alatas, 1925. Softcover. Unnumbered copy of a limited first edition of 1000 published; 9 x 7 1/4; vol. II pp. 206, vol. III pp. 190, vol. IV pp. 126, vol. V pp. 208, vol. VI pp. 196; illustrated wraps; two of the volumes with closed cuts and some loss of paper to tips of spine; most pages unopened; deckled edges; good to very good condition.Georgii Dmitrievich Grebenshchikov (1882 - 1964) was a Russian author, born in the Altai region of Siberia. In 1910 and 1911 he was a member of several ethnographic expeditions to the Uba and Bukhtarna valleys of the Altai and documented the customs and everyday life of the Starovery (Old Believers) community - a sect of recluse, Orthodox sectarians. He fled Russia with his wife in 1920, first to Paris, and later, in 1924, to the US. In 1925 he would cofound with Leo Tolstoy's son Ilia Tolstoy the Churaevka community for Russian emigre writers in Southbury, Connecticut. From 1941 to 1952, he was a professor of Russian… Read More

Kharbin: Tipografiia Kazansko-Bogoroditskago Muzhekogo Monastyria, 1929. Softcover. First editions, issues 1 and 2 for January and February, 1929; 7 3/4 x 5 1/2; illustrated wraps; issue 1 with thin cuts at tips of spine, spotting to margins of pages, illustrated, very good condition; issue 2 lacking back wrap, front wrap detached with some loss of paper, lower corner trimmed, previous owner's signature to front wrap, illustrated, in about good condition.Quite uncommon and fragile examples of the very first two issues of a children's magazine, published as a supplements to the "Khleb Nebesnyi" (Bread of Heaven) journal for the White emigre community in Harbin, China. Spiritual, cultural, and moral, the publications were printed at the Mother of God of Kazan Monastery in Harbin, which had its own publishing house. They came out monthly from 1929 until 1935, when the Manchukuo Manchuria (formed by the Japanese military administration in the occupied territories) banned their… Read More

San Francisco: Delo, 1951. Softcover. First edition; 5 3/4 x 7 1/4; pp. 98; blue wraps printed in gilt; margins of wraps with darker discoloration and some spotting; lacking first blank leaf else complete; text printed on heavy textured paper and ruled in gilt; internally mostly very clean; good to very good.Russian writer Rodion Berezov (known by the name Akulshin before his defection) came to the US, after being in a DP camp in Germany, immediately after WWII (living first in LA and later in San Francisco). Fearing deportation, he gave the US immigration authorities a fake name and place of birth. This practice was not an unusual occurrence among the thousands of Soviet refugees fleeing the terrors from behind the Iron Curtain. Eventually, Berezov decided to make a test case and reveal his true identity. Still, despite coming clean, he faced repatriation due to the signing of the Yalta Agreement with Russia, under which the US was obliged to repatriate illegal Russian immigrants and those who… Read More

Moscow: Literaturnaia Uchioba, 2009. Hardcover. Very Good. First Russian edition; 8vo; pp. [7], 8-302; original pictorial boards; a few rubbed spots to head and tail of spine and corners, else clean; very good. 1 of 1000 copies. Cherentsova lives in the US. In her current book-the two novels are separate, yet connected to each other by a common thread-women.

New York: Bezsmertnist' Ukraini, 1963. Softcover. First edition; 5 1/2 x 8 1/2; pp. 169; gray wraps illustrated with author's portrait; minor wear to tips of spine; front hinge showing some glue residue; signed with a lengthy inscription on half-title page + a short poem written on last blank leaf by the author; illustrated; near fine.A wonderful compilation of poems, Ukrainian folk songs, and several works of Taras Shevchenko whom the author - a Ukrainian emigrant and author - has mentioned on his dedication page.

Frankfurt: Literaturnoi Evropeetz, 2008. Soft cover. Near Fine. First edition; 8vo; pp. [2], 5-212; original glossy pictorial wraps; 1" crease line to upper corner of front cover; slight curling to bottom corners of first several pages; near fine. Signed/inscribed by the author to Anatoly Liberman, a professor of linguistics, etymology, and folklore at the University of Minnesota. He, himself, is the author of several books and hundreds of smaller scholarly works. In a recent interview, Vladimir Batshev, who lives in Frankfurt, Germany, when asked if he had felt nostalgic about Russia answered: "Nostalgia does not exist. It was a word invented by the Communists to discourage people from emigrating.

Shankhai: A. P. Kriukov, V. K. Martensen i Ko., 1921. Softcover. First edition thus; 6 x 8 1/2; pp. 86; illustrated wraps; spine reinforced with a brown linen strip; minor spotting to wraps; a few nicks and cuts to lower corner of back wrap; several passages underlined; small signature to title page; overall good to very good condition.A charming edition of Aleksandr Griboedov's (1795-1829) "Woe from Wit," published for the benefit of the White Emigres in China. He was a Russian poet, playwright, diplomat and composer. Considered by some "homo unius libri" (a writer of one book), he would pen numerous plays and poems but would gain fame only with the present satire of the Russian aristocratic society. He would meet an untimely death, massacred by an angry mob, while serving as Russia's ambassador to Persia.

Ann Arbor: Ardis, 1976. Softcover. First printing; 5 x 7 1/2; pp. [7], 10-112; red wraps printed in black; two small rubbed spots to spine and minor wear to corners; internally clean; very good to near fine condition.Russian dissident writer and, at one time, radio personality Vladimir Voinovich is well-known for the variety of literary genres of his works, including satirical fiction, poetry, and dystopian literature. Singled out by the Party for his style of writing and for his active participation in the Human Rights Movement, his works were banned from being published around 1965 and in 1980 he was forced to flee Russia and emigrate to Munich. He was allowed to return to his country in 1990. His "The Ivankiad: Or, the Tale of the Writer Voinovich's Installation in His New Apartment" is a hilarious and absurd autobiographical novella of bureaucratic madness and his quest for an upgrade from a single-room living quarters at the Moscow Writers' Housing Cooperative to a… Read More

Harbin: N. E. Chinareva, 1934. Softcover. First edition; 7 1/2 x 10 1/2; pp. 176; illustrated green wraps; cut to front wrap crudely repaired with tape to verso; chip to bottom edge; brown paper strip to spine; a bit of discoloration and slight ripple to margins of first several pages only; some pages unopened; good or better condition.An interesting and uncommon glimpse into the literary history of Russian emigres in the US who chose to print their works with their compatriots in China. At the time, Harbin had one of the biggest communities of White emigres outside of Russia, there were several Russian publishing houses there, and labor and cost were much cheaper than those in San Francisco. The Literature and Art Circle of San Francisco, a Russian literary emigre organization, created the almanac (apparently intended as a periodical though we have not been able to find evidence of the existence of subsequent issues) with a dual purpose - to showcase the works of Russian authors and poets… Read More

Paris: YMCA Press, 1932. Softcover. First edition; 5 1/2 x 8 1/2; pp. 31; beige wraps printed in black; small nicks to tips of spine; faint age-toning along margins of wraps; pages clean; very good or better.Nikolai Berdiaev (1874 – 1948) was one of Russia's best known religious philosophers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and a leading theoretician for the Russian Social Democratic Party. An article of his in 1913, criticising the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, earned him a charge of blasphemy, the punishment for which was exile to Siberia for life. The Revolution prevented the sentence from taking effect and he was allowed to continue writing and lecturing. Though, consequently, his dissatisfaction with the Bolsheviks' regime got him arrested several times and eventually resulted in his expulsion from Russia in 1922 on the so called "Philosophers' Ship" - a selected group of 160 prominent writers and intellectuals whose ideas the… Read More

San Francisco: Novoe Delo, 1969. Softcover. First edition thus; 6 1/2 x 8 3/4; pp. 324; orange wraps illustrated in black; a few small nicks to tips of spine; minor creasing to corners; several small spots to bottom edge and first blank leaf, else clean; illustrated in b & w by V. Taburin and A. Sudarushkin; very good to near fine condition.Lidiia Alekseevna Charskaia (1875-1937) was arguably the most celebrated female children's author at the beginning of the 20th century. In the span of 15 years she wrote an astounding number of books - over 80 - many of which became instant bestsellers. Her current book - Princess Dzhavakha - originally published in 1903, was her greatest success. Despite her popularity, or perhaps because of it, by 1920 Narkomprost (The People's Commissariat of Enlightenment) had pulled all her books from libraries and book stores and put her works in the "banned" category. Though, several of the leading Russian authors of the time, including… Read More

New Ulm, Germany: Ukrains'kikh Vistei, 1958. Softcover. First edition; 6 x 8; pp. 20; beige wraps printed in black; minor age-toning and spotting to margins of wraps; faint vertical crease line; very good or better.Fedir Pihido - Pravoberezhnii was a Ukrainian historian and cultural activist. He was also a high-ranking official of the UNR (Ukrainian National Republic) - the predecessor of modern Ukraine. Pihido emigrated to Germany at the end of the Second World War. He would head the publishing house "Ukrains'kikh Vistei" in 1950-1951 and would also become one of the leaders of the Ukrainian Revolutionary Democratic Party. Initially formed in the DP camps of Germany in 1945, the party would survive for only 20 years.

Winnipeg: Spilka, 1917. Softcover. First edition; 5 x 8; pp. 50; brown wraps printed in black; chips to corners; vertical cut along spine repaired; small stamp of previous owner; good or better.Written by an Ukrainian emigre author, the book elaborates on the subject of culture, national identity, and assimilation.

Paris: s. n., 1925. Softcover. First edition; 31 1/2 x 24 cm; pp. 24; illustrated off-white wraps; several small nicks and cuts to fore-edge and lower back corner; a few spots, mostly to margins; illustrated with photographs, drawings, and cartoons; very good.An iconic Russian art and literature emigre journal, Illustrated Russia was published in Paris from 1924 to 1939 for a total of 748 issues. In 1924-1925 it was issued bi-weekly and for the rest of its existence - once a week. The impressive list of contributors and editors represented every revered Russian intellectual living in exile including poets and authors Ivan Bunin, Zinaida Gippius, Dmitrii Merezhkovskii (Merezhkovsky), Konstantin Balmont, and many others, as well as artists Ivan Bilibin, Aleksandr Benua (Alexandre Benois), and Konstantin Korovin.A monumental record of life of the Russian immigrants, the journal published major works of emigre writers, as well as writings from within Russia, historical studies and… Read More

Paris: Presses Universitaires De France, 1971 (1972). Softcover. First edition; 6 1/2 x 9 3/4; pp. 338; beige wraps printed and illustrated in red and black; minor age-toning to margins; small nicks to tips of spine; some pages unopened; very good or better. Title and preface in French, text in Russian.Written by a French student and researcher of the Russian community in France, the book follows the chronology of the significant cultural events among the Russian emigres in the period from 1920 to 1930 including speeches, plays, lectures, book publishing, etc. The main impression revealed is the zeal and determination of the exiles to preserve their national identity.

Paris: Biblioteki Makhnovtsev, 1928. Softcover. First edition; 5 1/4 x 7; pp. 62; brown wraps printed in black; loss of paper to spine; edges of wraps brittle with nicks and chips; back cover unevenly trimmed; internally clean but for a light age-toning to pages; good or better condition.Nestor Ivanovich Makhno - Ukrainian anarchist and Commander of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine (also called 'The Black Army') wrote his current book in response to Soviet scholar M. Kubanin's anti-Makhno work "Makhnovshchina." Nestor Makhno, the son of peasants, was born in 1889 in Huliaipole, Ukraine. Shortly after joining a local anarchist group in 1906 he was arrested, released, re-arrested, and eventually sentenced to death - later reprieved because of his youth and instead imprisoned in the scariest penal institution in Moscow, Butyrki Prison. He was released after the Revolution in 1917 and returned to his native village. By the Winter of 1918 Makhno had managed to unite… Read More

Frankfurt: Literaturnoi Evropeetz, 2008. Soft cover. Very Good. First edition; 8vo; pp. [3], 6-501; original glossy pictorial wraps; minor wear to covers, mostly extreme edge of upper corner of front cover and first several pages; slight blue tint to fore-edge of pages, else clean; very good or better condition. In the 1960s, Leonid Borich was a physician on diesel and nuclear submarines in the Soviet Northern Fleet. Because of his own passion for collecting typewriters, he wrote a novella "Of the Life of a Typewriter," which is included in the present book.