Maslenikov (Oleg A.) Papers, 1929-1977

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Summary

Title:
Oleg A. Maslenikov Papers,
Dates:
1929-1977
Creators:
Maslenikov, Oleg A., 1907-1972
Abstract:
Correspondence, writings, notes, other personal and working papers, including material related to Prof. Maslenikov's teaching in Russian language and literature and Slavic studies at U.C. Berkeley, and to his translations and analyses of early-20th-century Russian poetry, particularly the works of Z.N. Gippius and Andrey Bely.
Extent:
4 cartons 1.5 linear ft.
Language:
Collection materials are in English and Russian
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Oleg A. Maslenikov Papers, BANC MSS 98/135 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Background

Scope and content:

The Oleg A. Maslenikov Papers contain correspondence, writings, research notes and his personal and working papers, particularly those related to his research and teaching in Russian and Slavic studies at U.C. Berkeley, and his anthologies, translations, critiques and metrical analyses of early Twentieth Century Russian poetry.

Series 1, General Correspondence, contains drafts and copies (and some unsent originals) of Maslenikov's outgoing correspondence, as well as incoming correspondence from individuals and organizations. Miscellaneous and unidentified correspondence is included at the end of the series.

The collection includes drafts and manuscripts of nearly all of his published books, articles, translations and reviews, as well as research notes and material gathered in the process of their writing. Several drafts of his doctoral dissertation, The Young Andrei Bely and the Symbolist Movement in Russia, 1901-1909, are here (along with comments and observations from his faculty advisors and others), as are drafts of Frenzied Poets, Andrey Biely and the Russian Symbolists, his seminal work for which his dissertation served as the basis, and various versions of translations of the poems that were included in the posthumously-issued collection Lyrics From the Russian: Symbolists and Others. The collection has many of Professor Maslenikov's unpublished works, including early student writings, original poems and plays, and translations of poems not selected for his published compilations. Teaching copies of some of these publications, replete with annotations, are also included in Series 2, Writings, as are drafts of many of his public lectures, readings and other presentations.

Examples of Professor Maslenikov's initial metrical analyses of Russian poems can be found in Series 3, Research Notes, which also includes some preliminary research material and notes on the works of Dostoyevsky and Bely.

Series 4, Subject Files, contains biographical material, documents collected by Professor Maslenikov relating to his professional associations with the University of California, Berkeley's Slavic Department and Institute of Slavic Studies, his organizational affiliations with the Kosmos Club and the Dobro Slovo National Slavic Honor Society, his lifelong interest in numismatics, and his contributions to the Alaska Fishery Hearings of 1942-1944.

A note about transcription of Russian names and titles within the Maslenikov Papers and in this finding aid: the form of a name or title as given in the title or table of contents of an item in the collection is the form used on the folder headings and in this document (e.g., "Belyj," "Biely," "Hippius," etc.). Otherwise, in the case of personal names, the bibliographically established form of name is used, when available (e.g., "Bely, Andrey," "Gippius, Z. N.," etc.). Romanization of names when no established form is available, and of titles when no other form is given within the collection, follows general Library of Congress practice.

Biographical / historical:
Date Event
November 29, 1907 Born, Vladivostok, Siberia
1920 Arrived United States
1921-1924 Attended Hollywood High School
November 12, 1926 Became United States citizen
September 1930 Entered the University of California, Los Angeles
Fall 1932 Transferred to the University of California, Berkeley
1933-1935 President, Slavic Society
Spring 1934 Elected to Phi Beta Kappa
December 1934 Graduated with honors, Department of Slavic Languages
1935-1936 Postgraduate studies at Universita Karlova (Prague), as Exchange Fellow of Institute of International Education
Fall 1936
Appointed Alternate Teaching Assistant in Department of History
Enrolled in the Graduate Division of UCB in Slavic Department
1936-1938 President, Dobro Slovo, National Slavic Honor Society
September 1937 Married Emily Lociga
February 1938 Passed oral Ph.D. exam
1939-1942 Lecturer in Russian
April 1941 Oleg Robert (son) born
August 1942 Final exam for Ph.D.; dissertation topic: The Young Andrei Bely and the Symbolist Movement in Russia, 1901-1909
September 1942 Instructor in Russian and Teaching Assistant in History
1942-1944 Investigation of Russian Fishing Practices in Alaska (Alaskan Fishery Hearings)
1944-1972 Association of American Teachers of Slavic and Eastern European Languages (Member, Elective Council, 1945-1947; President of California chapter, 1945-1948; First Vice-President, 1947-1948; President, 1948-1950)
1944-1952, 1966-1967 Chairman, Department of Slavic Languages
1945-1947 Executive Council, Phi Beta Kappa
1947 Chairman, Slavic Section, Modern Language Association
1950 Published An Historical Chrestomathy of the Russian Language
1951 Visiting Associate Professor, University of Pennsylvania
1952 Published Frenzied Poets, Andrey Biely and the Russian Symbolists
1953-1955, 1956-1957 Acting Director (summers), Institute of Slavic Studies
1960-1967 Visiting Lecturer, Russian Language Institute, Dartmouth College
1961 Published Anthology of Russian Symbolist Poetry
January 10, 1972 Died in Berkeley, California
November 1972 Lyrics From the Russian: Symbolists and Others published posthumously
Acquisition information:
The Oleg A. Maslenikov Papers were given to The Bancroft Library by Oleg R. Maslenikov on August 8, 1998
Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

About this collection guide

Date Prepared:
© 1998
Date Encoded:
Processed by Michael C. Conkin; machine-readable finding aid derived from Wordperfect by Michael C. Conkin August, 1998 and updated September, 2003; Date of source: August, 1998.

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Copyright has been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the appropriate curator or the Head of Public Services for forwarding. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Oleg A. Maslenikov Papers, BANC MSS 98/135 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Location of this collection:
University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft Library
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000, US
Contact:
510-642-6481
bancref-library@berkeley.edu
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