Vladimir Burnashev as an Anecdotist

Abstract

Being a journalist, author of many books for children, popular science essays and compilations, a newspaper day laborer, Vladimir P. Burnashev is especially interesting for literary historians as a memoirist who in the 1870s performed with the memoirs about contemporary writers and historical figures, mainly of the 1820s –1840s. The publication is devoted to the anecdotes collected from the literary and social life of Russia in the 19th century, which were recorded by Burnashev. It is an important and still unsufficiently studied aspect of his creative heritage. The article is accompanied by the publication of a selection of uncensored (mostly scandalous in their subjects) texts by Burnashev from the archives of the Pushkin House and the National Library of Russia. The article raises the question of the anecdotes genre specifics in the 19th century as well.

Keywords

• vladimir burnashev
• literary anecdotes
• social and cultural life of russia in the 19th century
• nikolay leskov
• creative heritage
• archive publications