Unknown texts by V. G. Korolenko (1904) about patriotism and nationalism

Abstract

The literary heritage of V. G. Korolenko has not yet been compiled in its entirety. Literary texts of various orientations, correspondence with various persons, and articles that were published in the provincial periodical press have not been taken into account or introduced into scholarly circulation. This publication presents two articles by Korolenko from 1904 which have been overlooked by scholars: an obituary, “Theodor Herzl (To the half-year anniversary of his death)”, and a book review of K. A. Skalkovsky “Materials for a Physiology of Russian Society. "A Little Chrestomathy for Adults"”. These articles are extremely important for understanding both Korolenko’s work and the literary and social circumstances in Russia and in general in Europe during the local conflicts (in the South African republics, the Boxer Rebellion in China, the Russo-Japanese War) and the First World War. At this time, the “national-patriotic” issue was becoming more relevant, as the major international interview published in early 1904 by the French weekly La Revue amply demonstrates. 41 politicians and cultural figures took part in this interview, including A. France, O. Mirbeau, A. de Gubernatis, K. Kautsky, F. Kossuth, C. Lombroso, M. Maeterlinck, N. K. Mikhailovsky, T. Mommsen, M. Nordau. These two forgotten articles by Korolenko show us one of the most important directions in the ideological struggle between the writer and the journal Russkoe bogatstvo in 1904. According to other print sources, this direction is not so obvious, which is why these articles, introduced into scholarly circulation, acquire particular significance.