DOI: 10.53084/22209050_2024_30_284

N.V. Braginskaya
The letters with prepaid notifications

Abstract: This paper explores oral memoirs collected for the project “The Owl of Minerva” by a group of Classical scholars from Moscow since 2000ies. The stories from the past (edge of 1940–50ies), told by several late colleagues, although belonging to a very narrow community, but hardly well-acquainted, show noticeable parallels. All four persons discussed in the paper were jews; in afterwar Stalin USSR this identity was at least a burden, or often a condemnation. The life and background of Natan Grinbaum, Maxim Cherniavsky and Serguey Osherov were very different, but all of them faced the same hypocritical segregation “trick” with fake job offers. They did not know of each other, but all found a way out not only to survive, but to contribute greatly to scholarship, enlightenment or education. The fourth – Solomon Apt – was not interviewed in the project, also mentions the same discriminating practices in his interview. Even his multiple letters with prepaid notifications for potential employers could not help to find the rift in the Stalin system. Nevertheless, he managed not to change the profession, and later he became an outstanding translator from Ancient Greek and German.

Keywords: “The Owl of Minerva”, interviews with famous classical philologists, N. Greenbaum, M. Chernyavsky, S. Osherov, S. Apt, the fates of Jewish scientists in the Soviet Union, their contribution to science

To cite this article: Braginskaya N.V. The letters with prepaid notifications. Aristeas XXX (2024): 284–297.


Author:
Nina V. Braginskaya