Capital Restoration. The Russian version of “Lolita”: From the manuscript to the book

Abstract

The article focuses on the history of creation and publication of the Russian translation of “Lolita” (1967). Based on Nabokov’s manuscript of the Russian translation of the novel and other archival materials from the New York Public Library (Berg Collection), on one hand, and on the comparison between the translation and the original text of the novel, on the other, the present analysis for the first time examines different types of numerous distortions, omissions, flaws and mistakes added by the typist in the Russian version of the novel and in its further reprints and editions in Russia. Certain approaches and principles, formulated in the article, allow starting the preparation of the first critical, textually correct edition of the novel.

Keywords

• vladimir nabokov
• “lolita”
• history of publication
• archival materials
• self-translation