Codex manuscriptus Codex manuscriptus 2949-0510 2949-0502 IWL RAS https://doi.org/10.22455/CM.2949-0510-2025-6-633-643 Research Article and Publication of Archival Materials Articles Handwritten Draft of the Obituary “To V.D. Nabokov” (1922) by Z.N. Gippius Andrushchenko Elena A. codeximli@yandex.ru June 26, 2024 6 633 643 20 century Petrograd literary environment “World literature” manuscript albums literary translation Copyright © 2026, IWL RAS 2026 This article is the first publication of the handwritten draft of the obituary “To V.D. Nabokov” (<1922>), which was written by Z.N. Gippius in a notebook and recovered from the archives of Illinois University. Comparison of this text with the published version, “A great man”, indicates that the author seemingly reconsidered the concept of the obituary over two weeks. The Merezhkovskys received the news of V.D. Nabokov’s demise from N.V. Tchaikovsky. Z.N. Gippius gave the death a biblical interpretation in her reply on 1 April 1922, denying the ideological similarity between the deceased and P.N. Milyukov. However, her work on the obituary emphasized the protest against possible negotiations between the Europeans and the Bolsheviks, expressed as a direct reference to Genoa and the upcoming international conference. The printed version of the obituary “A great man” employs a metaphor of the red mask, thus concealing the subject of Z.N. Gippius’s protest. The news of V.D. Nabokov’s assassination presumably reached Z.N. Gippius during her work on a text called “Fevralisty (Soiuz X 2). Istoriia”, found in the same notebook. The metaphor of the red mask is common to it and the obituary. The difference between the handwritten draft of “To V.D. Nabokov” and the printed version of “A great man” is due not to a change of opinion, but to the need to publish two obituaries — by Gippius as well as by Merezhkovsky.   1. Os’minina, E. “‘My ob’iavim nash Soiuz Dukha sushchestvuiushchim…’ (Merezhkovskie i N.V. Chaikovskii v nachale 1920-kh)” [“‘We Will Declare Our Union of Spirit Existing...’ (Merezhkovsky and N.V. Tchaikovsky in the Early 1920s)”]. Diaspora. Novye materialy, no. 5, 2003, pp. 611–627. (In Russ.) 2. “Perepiska Merezhkovskikh s N.V. Chaikovskim, podg. teksta i primech. E.A. Andrushchenko” [“Correspondence of the Merezhkovskys with N.V. Tchaikovsky, ed. text and notes by E.A. Andrushchenko”]. Merezhkovskie i Evropa, pod obshch. red. V.V. Polonskogo, red.-sost. E.A. Andrushchenko, O.A. Blinova, V.M. Vvedenskaia [Merezhkovsky and Europe, ed.-in-chief V.V. Polonsky, ed.-comp. E.A. Andrushchenko, O.A. Blinova, V.M. Vvedenskaya]. Moscow, IWL RAS Publ., 2023. pp. 354–408. https:// doi.org/10.22455/978-5-9208-0739-7-354-408 (In Russ.)