Scribes as a Keepers of Meanings: In the Memory of Lev Mikhailovich Turchinsky

Abstract

In the history of Russia, as well as in the history of European culture, books have been destroyed more than once by the authorities. One can recall the indices of banned books compiled by the Inquisition, the prohibitions of the Russian authorities on the tests of Chaadaev, Belinsky, Vl. Solovyov, but the bans on books in the era of Soviet power are shocking. Not only political or journalistic books were banned, but the works of the largest Russian writers and poets — Akhmatova, Mandelstam, Tsvetaeva, and others — were banned. However, few people paid attention to the activities of people who tried to save these books and saved them. In his article, the author talks about one of these ascetics — the scribe Lev Turchinsky.