Subject
Jakob Gradus
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The family of the last Russian tsar was executed (in July, 1918) in Ekaterinburg. The main city in the Urals region, Ekaterinburg was founded in 1723 and named after Saint Catherine, the namesake of the wife of Tsar Peter I, the Empress Catherine I (1684?-1727).* In 1924 the city was renamed Sverdlovsk, after Yakov Sverdlov (1885-1919), one of the chief architects of the Red Terror (who, according to Lev Trotski, was responsible for the murder of tsar's family). Jakob Gradus is a namesake of Yakov Sverdlov and Yakov Yurovski (1878-1938), the chief executioner of Nicolas II, his family, servants and Dr Botkin. When reversed, Jacob Gradus becomes Sudarg of Bokay, a mirror maker of genius (see Index). Sudarg seems to hint at gosudar' (sovereign, Sire).
Interestingly, Sverdlov's brother Zinoviy Peshkov, who became a distinguished French general and diplomat (1884-1966), friend of de Gaulle, was Maxim Gorky's god-child. Nizhniy Novgorod** (Alexey Peshkov's and Yakov Sverdlov's home city) was renamed Gorky by the Bolsheviks. Gorkiy means in Russian "bitter." Again, one is reminded of Pyotr Annibal's words in Tynyanov's "Pushkin:"
Я возвожу в известный градус крепости. Чтоб вишня, горечь, чтоб сад был во рту.
"I achieve a certain alcohol percentage. To taste cherries, bitterness, a garden in my mouth." (a very loose translation)
While gorech' (bitterness) reminds one of Gorky, vishnya (cherries) and sad (garden) bring to mind Chekhov's play Vishnyovyi sad ("Cherry Orchard," 1904). One of its characters is Yasha (diminutive of Yakov), a man-servant. He loves to drink his masters's expensive champagne, affirming it is not genuine. He hates Russia and is fond of living abroad (particularly, in Paris), exclaiming: "Vive la France!" The servant girl Dunyasha who idolizes him is a namesake of Eudoxia Lopukhin (the first wife of Peter I, mother of tsarevich Alexey, 1690-1718, who was murdered in the Peter-and-Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg).
For what it is worth, Sady ("The Gardens," 1921) is a title of G. Ivanov's collection of poetry.
*She is a character in Tynyanov's story Wax Person. Her maiden name, Martha Skavronska, reminds one of Martin Gradus, Jakob's father. Martha was a Lett woman, and Gradus was born in Riga.
**Pushkin's family estate Boldino was in the Province of Nizhniy Novgorod.
Alexey Sklyarenko
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Interestingly, Sverdlov's brother Zinoviy Peshkov, who became a distinguished French general and diplomat (1884-1966), friend of de Gaulle, was Maxim Gorky's god-child. Nizhniy Novgorod** (Alexey Peshkov's and Yakov Sverdlov's home city) was renamed Gorky by the Bolsheviks. Gorkiy means in Russian "bitter." Again, one is reminded of Pyotr Annibal's words in Tynyanov's "Pushkin:"
Я возвожу в известный градус крепости. Чтоб вишня, горечь, чтоб сад был во рту.
"I achieve a certain alcohol percentage. To taste cherries, bitterness, a garden in my mouth." (a very loose translation)
While gorech' (bitterness) reminds one of Gorky, vishnya (cherries) and sad (garden) bring to mind Chekhov's play Vishnyovyi sad ("Cherry Orchard," 1904). One of its characters is Yasha (diminutive of Yakov), a man-servant. He loves to drink his masters's expensive champagne, affirming it is not genuine. He hates Russia and is fond of living abroad (particularly, in Paris), exclaiming: "Vive la France!" The servant girl Dunyasha who idolizes him is a namesake of Eudoxia Lopukhin (the first wife of Peter I, mother of tsarevich Alexey, 1690-1718, who was murdered in the Peter-and-Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg).
For what it is worth, Sady ("The Gardens," 1921) is a title of G. Ivanov's collection of poetry.
*She is a character in Tynyanov's story Wax Person. Her maiden name, Martha Skavronska, reminds one of Martin Gradus, Jakob's father. Martha was a Lett woman, and Gradus was born in Riga.
**Pushkin's family estate Boldino was in the Province of Nizhniy Novgorod.
Alexey Sklyarenko
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/