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Miroliubov (Iurii Petrovich) papers
2000C89
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Title: Iurii Petrovich Miroliubov papers
Date (inclusive): 1928-1990
Collection Number: 2000C89
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
Russian
Physical Description:
10 microfilm reels
(1.5 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Speeches and writings, correspondence, and printed matter, relating to Russian literature and to Russian émigré affairs.
Creator:
Miroli͡ubov, I͡Uriĭ Petrovich, 1892-1970
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquired.
[Identification of item], Iurii Petrovich Miroliubov Papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library &
Archives.
Originals in: Museum of Russian Culture, San Francisco.
| 1892 July 30 (O.S.) | Born, Bakhmut, Ekaterinoslavskaia guberniia, Russia |
| 1915 | Graduated, Kiev University |
| 1921-1924 | University student in Prague, Czechoslovakia |
| 1925 | Author, Dva svieta |
| 1954 | Emigrated to the United States |
| 1970 November 6 | Died aboard a ship en route to Europe |
| 1974 | Author, Babushkin sunduk (published posthumously) |
| 1977 | Author, Prabkino uchenie (published posthumously) |
| 1990 | Author, Skazy Zakharikhi (published posthumously) |
IUrii Miroliubov was born on 30 July 1892 (O.S.) in the town of Bakhmut, Ekaterinoslavskaia guberniia. The First World War
interrupted his studies at the University of St. Vladimir in Kiev, and as an officer he served in the White Army in South
Russia, evacuating the country in 1920. He resumed his education in Prague and Belgium, where he settled and became a chemical
engineer in charge of a glycerin-producing factory.
Miroliubov also wrote prose and poetry, primarily folkloric renderings of ancient Russian history, most of which was published
by his widow posthumously in the 1970s-1990s, but which also appeared in contemporary newspapers and journals. In 1954, he
acquired the San Francisco-based émigré periodical Zhar-ptitsa, and moved to San Francisco, California, to continue its publication.
It is in this journal that the document known as the "Vles-Kniga" (aka "Kniga Velesa", "Vlesova Kniga") first made its appearance.
Purporting to be a newly-discovered ancient manuscript describing the history of the Eastern Slavs in pre-Christian times,
the existence and dissemination of this literary mystification is due in large measure to Miroliubov's efforts.
Following the closure of Zhar-ptitsa in the late 1950s Miroliubov decided to return to Belgium, but never made it, dying at
sea on 6 November 1970.
Iurii Miroliubov was a chemist, journalist, poet and writer with an interest in ancient Russian folklore. He is best known
for his attempts to synthesize a new history of pre-historic Russia in a series of books and articles, many of which were
based on the forgery known as "Vlesova kniga," which he helped promulgate as editor of the journal
Zhar-ptitsa. Materials relating to this forgery can be found among his writings as well as in the subject file. Other materials of interest
are his reminiscences of the Russian colony in Belgium during the German occupation (1939-1945), numerous newspaper columns,
many of which deal with émigré political and social life in post-World War II Belgium, and short stories, some of which were
compiled and published under the titles
Babushkin sunduk and
Prabkino uchenie.
Detailed processing and preservation microfilming for these materials were made possible by a generous grant from the National
Endowment for the Humanities and by matching funds from the Hoover Institution and Museum of Russian Culture. The grant also
provides depositing a microfilm copy in the Hoover Institution Library & Archives. The original materials remain in the Museum
of Russian Culture, San Francisco as its property. A transfer table indicating corresponding box and reel numbers is available
at the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
The Hoover Institution assumes all responsibility for notifying users that they must comply with the copyright law of the
United States (Title 17 United States Code) and Hoover Rules for the Use and Reproduction of Archival Materials.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Russian literature
Russians -- United States
Russians -- Belgium