CONTENTS

5401 Boris Lyubimov. Later, and on the Eve

5402 Yuri Alexandrov. The Kremlin Island

5403 Alexander Ryumin. Island Opposite the Church

5404 Mikhail Kiselyov. Maria Yakunchikova and Russian Art Nouveau

5405 The Return of Ivan Shmelev

Literature/History/Philosophy

5406 S.M. Golitsyn. Notes of a Survivor. Publication by G.S. and M.S. Golitsyn. Introduction by V. Potresov

5407 Natalia Korolyova. Prisoner No.1442. From the book about her father. (Conclusion)

5408 Margarita Rudomino. My Library. Publication by A.V.Rudomino

5409 Vladimir Enischerlov. Margarita Ivanovna

5410 Igor Vinogradov. The Appearance of a Picture—Gogol and Alexander Ivanov

5411 Gerold Vzdornov. Nereditsa. Landscape and Church

5412 A.P. Kudryavtsev, D.O. Shvidkovsky. European Society of Culture in Venice

5413 Natalia Kazakevich. “Memorable Possessions” of Russian Monarchs

Bookmark

5414 El. Ivanova. From Symbolism to Post-modernism, From Manuscript to Hypertext

5415 A.A. Leontyev. Book for Leisurely Reading

5416 G.M. Chudakov. Profession and Calling

“Our Heritage” Gallery

5417 Viktor Chizhikov. Father and Daughter

5418 Lyubov Akimova. Communing with Antiquity

The present issue opens with Boris Lyubimov’s thoughts on the meaning of dates in Russian history in connection with the departing XXth century, and the imminent XXIst [5401].

In the very heart of Moscow near the Kremlin lies a large island linked by four “Large” bridges: Kammeny, Moskvoretsky, Ustyinsky and Krasnokholmsky. The island, its history and the projected new museum and historico-cultural centre (architect—A. Bokov) are discussed by Yuri Alexandrov [5402] and Alexander Ryumin [5403].

Due to the fact that most of the creative heritage of Maria Yakunichkova (1870—1902), an artist who, among other masters who determined the inimitable specifics of the Russian Silver Age, remained abroad, her role and significance in Russian art has fallen into obscurity. Attempts to give a true evaluation of her contribution to Russian artistic culture, which aroused interest in the 1970s, are described by Mikhail Kiselyov in Maria Yakunchikova and Russian Art Nouveau [5404].

The Russian Cultural Fund has brought home the remains of the famous Russian writer Ivan Shmelev, which was interred in the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow in accordance with the writer's Will [5405].

The rubric Literature / History / Philosophy presents the first chapters of a novel-memoir written in the style of a family chronicle (Notes of a Survivor, [5406]) by S.M. Golitsyn (1909—1989), a scion of one of the leading and ancient Russian noble families. The rubric continues with new excerpts from Natalia Korolyova’s book about Sergei Korolyov (see beginning in No.53) Prisoner No.1442 [5407].

We have already written about events in the life of an outstanding personality in the world of Soviet era culture, Margarita Rudomino (1900—1990), who was the founder (1921) and director of the All-Russian State Library of Foreign Literature (VGBIL) for 52 years (1921—1973). The Library has borne her name since 1990. The present publication is devoted to the 100th anniversary of her birth (July 2000), and offers the reader excerpts from M.I. Rudomino’s memoirs My Library [5408], prepared for publication by A.V. Rudomino and supplemented by Vladimir Enischerlov’s recollections about M.I. Rudomino—Margarita Ivanovna [5409].

Igor Vinogradov writes about the creative and personal relations between writer N. Gogol and artist A. Ivanov—one of the unsolved questions in the history of Russian art. (The Appearance of a Picture—Gogol and Alexander Ivanov, [5410]).

There is no better-known monument in Russian cultural and mediaeval history than Nereditsa in the southern environs of Great Novgorod, and the murals in the Church of the Transfiguration. In his article Nereditsa. Landscape and Church [5411], academician Gerold Vzdornov returns to the puzzle of Nereditsa, which embodies all the artistic culture of the XIIth century.

Note by A.P. Kudryavtsev and D.O. Shvidkovsky [5412] concerning the 50^th anniversary of the European Society of Culture, which was founded in Venice on the initiative of the italian philosopher Umberto Campagnolo.

A theme already raised in “Our Heritage”, the history of St. Petersburg porcelain, is continued in “Memorable Possessions” of Russian Monarchs [5413] by Natalia Kazakevich, including such unique masterpieces as the famous “Andreyevsky service” of Meissen china (XVIIIth century) owned by Russian autocrats, and currently housed in the State Hermitage collection.

The rubric Bookmark carries of reviews by A.A. Leontyev [5415], G.M. Chudakov [5416] and El. Ivanova [5414] of books published in 1999—2000.

The permanent rubric “Our Heritage” Gallery contains a contribution by Viktor Chizhikov about the artists Nikolai and Yulia Ustinov (Father and Daughter, [5417]) and by Lidia Akimova about the artist Veronika Garanina (Communing with Antiquity, [5418]).

Front cover:

A.A. Ivanov. The Appearance of the Messiah. Sketch. 1845—1846. Canvas, oils. State Tretyakov Gallery. Detail