Vladimir Narbut
Encyclopedia
Vladimir Ivanovich Narbut (1888–1938) - Russia
n poet
of Ukrainian
descent, and member of the Acmeist
group, brother of Ukrainian artist and graphic designer Georgy Narbut.
in the Chernigov Governorate
of Russian Empire
(now, the Sumy Oblast
of Ukraine
). In 1906, Narbut and his brother Georgii (the painter
and graphic designer
Georgii Ivanovich Narbut) moved to Saint Petersburg
where Vladimir studied mathematics and Oriental languages. Narbut's poems first appeared in print in 1908 and two years later he published his debut collection of verse Stikhi. God tvorchestva pervy ('Poems. Year One of Creative Work'). His second collection, Alliluia ("Hallelujah," 1912)—filled with "grotesque and vivid imagery" according to the Handbook of Russian Literature—satirized the landed gentry, and copies were seized by the police as pornographic. To avoid the ensuing scandal and a court trial, Narbut spent the next five months on an ethnographic expedition to Ethiopia
and Somalia
. He returned to Russia after the amnesty declared on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Romanov Dynasty in March 1913. On his return Narbut became the publisher and editor of the magazine Novy Zhurnal Dlya Vsekh until he had to give it up for financial reasons.
After the February Revolution
broke out in 1917, Narbut joined the Bolshevik
s. One night early in 1918, armed men broke into the Narbut family home and killed his brother Sergei. Narbut himself was wounded and had to have his left hand amputated. During the Russian Civil War
, Narbut published literary magazines in Voronezh
and Kiev
. He was arrested by the White Guard
s in Rostov-on-Don
and imprisoned until being released by the Red Army. In the 1920s, he edited the magazines Lava and Oblava in Odessa
and issued further collections of his own verse, including Aleksandra Pavlovna (1922), the last to appear in his lifetime. In 1928 he was accused of not telling the truth about his imprisonment by the Whites and was expelled from the Communist Party. He began writing lyrics again in the 1930s and another collection, Spiral, was due to be published when he was arrested on October 26, 1936, and accused of belonging to subversive "Ukrainian nationalist" group. He sentenced to five years in the Gulag
. He was incarcerated in prison camps near Vladivostok
and Magadan
, and the circunstances of his death and its date are uncertain, the registered date of 1944 in all likelihood invented. He was either summarily shot in 1938 or was drowned with a group of prisoners in sealed barge in the Arctic Ocean (according to Nadezhda Mandelshtam).
A translation of Narbut's poem "Portrait" appears in the anthology Modern Russian Poetry, ed. Vladimir Markov and Merrill Sparks (Bobbs Merrill, 1967).
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
of Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
descent, and member of the Acmeist
Acmeist poetry
Acmeism, or the Guild of Poets, was a transient poetic school which emerged in 1910 in Russia under the leadership of Nikolai Gumilyov and Sergei Gorodetsky. The term was coined after the Greek word acme, i.e., "the best age of man"....
group, brother of Ukrainian artist and graphic designer Georgy Narbut.
Biography
Vladimir Ivanovich Narbut was born on his family's estate at Narbutovka, near the town of GlukhovHlukhiv
Hlukhiv or Glukhov is a historic town in Sumy region of Ukraine, just south from the Russian border . As of 2001, the city's population is 35,800...
in the Chernigov Governorate
Chernigov Governorate
The Chernigov Governorate , also known as the Government of Chernigov, was a guberniya in the historical Left-bank Ukraine region of the Russian Empire, which was officially created in 1802 from the disbanded Malorossiya Governorate with an administrative centre of Chernigov...
of Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
(now, the Sumy Oblast
Sumy Oblast
Sumy Oblast is an oblast in the northeastern part of Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Sumy.Other important cities within the oblast include Konotop, Okhtyrka, Romny, and Shostka....
of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
). In 1906, Narbut and his brother Georgii (the painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and graphic designer
Graphic designer
A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, printed or electronic media, such as brochures and...
Georgii Ivanovich Narbut) moved to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
where Vladimir studied mathematics and Oriental languages. Narbut's poems first appeared in print in 1908 and two years later he published his debut collection of verse Stikhi. God tvorchestva pervy ('Poems. Year One of Creative Work'). His second collection, Alliluia ("Hallelujah," 1912)—filled with "grotesque and vivid imagery" according to the Handbook of Russian Literature—satirized the landed gentry, and copies were seized by the police as pornographic. To avoid the ensuing scandal and a court trial, Narbut spent the next five months on an ethnographic expedition to Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
and Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
. He returned to Russia after the amnesty declared on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Romanov Dynasty in March 1913. On his return Narbut became the publisher and editor of the magazine Novy Zhurnal Dlya Vsekh until he had to give it up for financial reasons.
After the February Revolution
February Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
broke out in 1917, Narbut joined the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s. One night early in 1918, armed men broke into the Narbut family home and killed his brother Sergei. Narbut himself was wounded and had to have his left hand amputated. During the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, Narbut published literary magazines in Voronezh
Voronezh
Voronezh is a city in southwestern Russia, the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast. It is located on both sides of the Voronezh River, away from where it flows into the Don. It is an operating center of the Southeastern Railway , as well as the center of the Don Highway...
and Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. He was arrested by the White Guard
White Guard
The term White Guard may refer to:* White Guard , part of the White Army of the 1918 Finnish Civil War* White Guard , part of the Axis colaborators in Slovenia during the Second World War* Military arm of the Russian White movement...
s in Rostov-on-Don
Rostov-on-Don
-History:The mouth of the Don River has been of great commercial and cultural importance since the ancient times. It was the site of the Greek colony Tanais, of the Genoese fort Tana, and of the Turkish fortress Azak...
and imprisoned until being released by the Red Army. In the 1920s, he edited the magazines Lava and Oblava in Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
and issued further collections of his own verse, including Aleksandra Pavlovna (1922), the last to appear in his lifetime. In 1928 he was accused of not telling the truth about his imprisonment by the Whites and was expelled from the Communist Party. He began writing lyrics again in the 1930s and another collection, Spiral, was due to be published when he was arrested on October 26, 1936, and accused of belonging to subversive "Ukrainian nationalist" group. He sentenced to five years in the Gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
. He was incarcerated in prison camps near Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
and Magadan
Magadan
Magadan is a port town on the Sea of Okhotsk and gateway to the Kolyma region. It is the administrative center of Magadan Oblast , in the Russian Far East. Founded in 1929 on the site of an earlier settlement from the 1920s, it was granted the status of town in 1939...
, and the circunstances of his death and its date are uncertain, the registered date of 1944 in all likelihood invented. He was either summarily shot in 1938 or was drowned with a group of prisoners in sealed barge in the Arctic Ocean (according to Nadezhda Mandelshtam).
A translation of Narbut's poem "Portrait" appears in the anthology Modern Russian Poetry, ed. Vladimir Markov and Merrill Sparks (Bobbs Merrill, 1967).
External links
- http://www.akhmatova.org/articles/besprozvanny.htm#8