“Throwing into the Whirlwind Vortex”: Unaccounted Memoirs about Blok by S. Korenev

Abstract

The article examines certain plots of the “Blok theme” in the 1920s Riga periodicals, which had not previously attracted the attention of researchers. The Russian press of independent Latvia (1919 –1940) has preserved many tens, if not hundreds, of articles, correspondences, documents, poetic texts dedicated to A.A. Blok’s personality and works. Among them are memoirs of people who were familiar with the poet, met with him, listened to his speeches. However, most of these scattered memoirs remain forgotten and are not taken into account in the Blok studies. The author recalls the texts of V.V. Tretyakov, A.M. Perfiliev and republishes from the Riga newspaper “Slovo” a memorial article about Blok by S.A. Korenev, who in 1917 worked with the poet in the Extraordinary Investigative Commission of the Provisional Government.