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Abstract:

Many émigrés viewed Germany’s war with the Soviet Union as a prolongation of the Civil War. Even today, among researchers of Russia Abroad, discussion continues concearning the question — on which side the majority of émigré writers stood on during the war. In this context, D.S. Merezhkovsky, I.S. Shmelyov, I.D. Surguchev, V.I. Goryansky and the Cossack general and popular writer P.N. Krasnov are mentioned. In particular, the features of the Russian cultural life in occupied Paris are considered. It is noted that some writers cooperated with the pro-fascist newspaper “Parizhskii Vestnik”. At the same time, the writers who did not want to exist in the conditions of the “new order” waited out a difficult time in the “free” zone in the South of France. I.A. Bunin left the capital — he wrote his stories in Grasse, located on the Côte d’Azur, these stories were later included in his book “The Dark Alleys”. Bunin did not publish anything in France during the war, but it was still possible to send manuscripts to the USA — the first book edition of “The Dark Alleys” took place in 1943 in New York. Another fairly illustrative example of the attitude to the war against the USSR is given. V.F. Bulgakov, the last literary secretary of Leo Tolstoy, who was exiled from the Soviet Russia on board of the so called “Philosophers’ Ship”, invariably remained on patriotic positions. From this point of view his memoirs “In the Kingdom of Swastika. The Prisons and Camps” are considered, which highlight many characteristic details related to the period of the German occupation of Prague. Thus, the conducted analysis shows that the majority of literary émigrés retained their patriotic feelings towards the abandoned homeland and did not support Hitler’s aggressive plans.

Keywords: Russian émigré literature, D.S. Merezhkovsky, I.S. Shmelyov, I.A. Bunin, V.F. Bulgakov, Russian Prague, Russian Cultural and Historical Museum.