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Nikolaev (Konstantin Nikolaevich) papers
2000C86
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Title: Konstantin Nikolaevich Nikolaev papers
Date (inclusive): 1930-1968
Collection Number: 2000C86
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
Russian
Physical Description:
7 microfilm reels
(1.0 linear_foot)
Abstract: Correspondence, speeches and writings, and printed matter, relating to Russian émigré lawyers in the United States, and to
resettlement of Russian refugees in the United States.
Creator:
Nikolaev, K. N. (Konstantin Nikolaevich), 1884-1965
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.
Materials were acquired by Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 2003 and 2008
[Identification of item], Konstantin Nikolaevich Nikolaev Papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library
& Archives.
In part, Museum of Russian Culture, San Francisco. In part, Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary, Jordanville, New York
Scope and Content Note for the Holy Trinity Seminary materials
These papers provide insight into the life of the Orthodox Church in Poland in the Interwar period, where Konstantin Nikolaev
served as legal advisor to the Orthodox Church in Poland, until he was forced into exile to Yugoslavia, where he continued
to be active in the offices of Patriarch Varnava and Metropolitan Anastasii. Nikolaev was a defender of human rights, especially
in regards to the Russian émigrés, which is reflected in this collection, particularly in the Subject File in the papers of
the Union of Russian Jurists. Therefore, these papers reflect his activities on behalf of Russian émigrés at large.
The Correspondence is mainly of a personal nature, however, the Subject File includes detailed correspondence related to Nikolaev's
role as chair of the Union of Russian Jurists Former DPs in the USA, which was founded by him as a continuation of the Union
of Russian Jurists in Germany, which he also established.
Nikolaev's legal and advocacy activities are also reflected in his Speeches and Writings, which are in part represented in
these papers. Particularly significant in this regard are "Bor'ba russkikh tserkovnykh i obshchestvennykh organizatsii za
zhizn' russkikh DP v Germanii," and "Istoriia dieiatel'nosti russkikh tserkovnykh i obshchestvennykh organizatsii v okkupatsionnykh
zonakh Germanii po zashchitie zhizni i svobody b. sovietskikh grazhdan pred amerikanskimi vlastiami." Also significant is
his memoir, "Moi zhiznennyi put'," which describes his early life, military career, service in the White Army during the Russian
Civil War, and émigré activities.
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 the Holy Trinity Seminary. The grant also
provides depositing a microfilm copy in the Hoover Institution Library & Archives. The original materials remain in the Holy
Trinity Seminary Archives as its property. A transfer table indicating corresponding box and reel numbers is appended to this
register. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials do not necessarily represent those
of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
| 1884, April 12 | Born, Kiev, Russia |
| 1905 | Graduated, Iiuridicheskii fakul'tet Imperatorskogo Kievskogo universiteta Sv. Vladimira |
| 1911-1918 | Attorney in Kiev, Russia |
| 1920 May | Arrived in Warsaw, Poland |
| 1926-1933 | Legal advisor to the Orthodox Church in Poland |
| 1927 | Author, Pravovoe polozhenie Sv. Avtokefal'noi Tserkvi v Pol'she |
| Author, Sud prisiazhnykh v Rossii (1864-1917) | |
| 1931 | Author, Vossoedinenie uniatov s Pravoslavnoi Tser-kov'iu v 1839 g.i Konkordat Rima s Rossiei v 1847 g. |
| 1933-1944 | Lived in Belgrade, Yugoslavia |
| 1934 | Author, Pravovoe polozhenie Pravoslavnoi Tserkvi i naroda russkogo v rasseianii sushchego |
| 1946 | Organized the Union of Russian Jurists in Germany |
| 1950 | Organized the Union of Russian Jurists Former DPs in the USA, serves as chair |
| Author, Vostochnyi obriad | |
| 1965 June 26 | Died, New York, NY |
Konstantin Nikolaevich Nikolaev was born on April 12, 1884, in Kiev, Russia. A graduate of the Law Department of Kiev University
of St. Vladimir, Nikolaev worked as an attorney in Kiev until 1918. In 1920 he immigrated to Warsaw, Poland, where he served
as legal adviser to the Orthodox Church and held other diocesan assignments. In 1933, Nikolaev was exiled to Belgrade, Serbia,
where he continued to advise church hierarchy on legal affairs. In this capacity, he worked closely with Patriarch Varnava
(Rusich) of the Serbian Orthodox Church and Metropolitan Anastasii (Gribanovskii) of the Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia.
Leaving Belgrade in 1944, Nikolaev spent the next two years in Germany involved in defense of human rights, especially concerning
Russian refugees. In 1946 he founded the Union of Former Russian Jurists in Germany, reestablishing this organization in the
United States after his arrival there in 1950. As chair of this organization, Nikolaev continued his efforts on behalf of
the Russian émigré community.
Nikolaev authored several books on jurisprudence and church history, was a contributor to various émigré periodicals, and
published and edited the journal Za pravo i pravdu. He died in New York on June 26, 1965.
Scope and Content Note for the Museum of Russian Culture materials
The papers of a leading émigré activist and lawyer, Konstantin Nikolaevich Nikolaev (1884-1965). It includes Nikolaev's correspondence
with other Russian émigrés, and German and American authorities, regarding the resettling of Russian refugees in the United
States following the Second World War, as well as materials relating to two émigré legal organizations directed by Nikolaev.
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
Russians -- United States
Refugees
International relief
Lawyers -- United States
Lawyers -- Russia