Russian Press in Riga

The next important stage in the creative of Y.Abyzov began when he found the fund of the pre-war newspaper ”Segodnyia”/ „Today” in the depository of the Latvian State Historical archives. However, there was only correspondence of „Segonya” editorial board of 1930-1937 (the newspaper was being published from 1919 until 1940), it did not diminish the value of the published documents. Boris Ravdin worked side by side with Yuri Abizov. The so-called „intellectual centre” was led by the former resident of Riga, professor of the Stanford University, Lazar Fleishman. Some years of intensive work resulted into 5-volume edition „Russian Press in Riga: From the History of the Newspaper „Today” of 1930s”.30 For today, it is the largest of scientific researches in Russian historiography of Latvia, which has contributed greatly to the source-research base and has let us look at many problems from a completely new aspect breaking the existing stereotypes. The significance of this work obviously exceeds the national limits. The introductory article of the authors gives an idea not only about the conditions, under which the editorial board of „Segodnya”/’Today” had to work in Latvia, but also shows the role of this newspaper in the culture of the Russians abroad.

„ Our publication included a numerously insignificant part of the documents”, noted the authors . „We were considering , both, the scientific significance of documents for the history of Russian press in Latvia and for the history of Russians abroad in general. We had an opportunity to compare the published frame of documents with the fragments from the working archives of the the Parisian „Poslednie novosti”/’ Latest news” board, preserved by B.Nikolayevski. Among them, there were casual, isolated materials of the beginning of 1930s and, only relying on them, it is impossible to form the notion about conditions of functioning of the Russian press abroad. As a contrast, the materials gathered by us, allow to depict - with sufficient completeness – the history of Russian public life and culture in dispersion in 1930s, as well as the dynamics of Latvian and international political situation of that time.”31 The editorial board of „Segodnya” not only used the best of the available local journalists personnel, but actively involved notable journalists and writers living abroad. Among the correspondents of „Segodnya” there were: Mark Aldanov, Alexander Amfiteatrov, Konstantin Balmont, Nina Berberova, Ivan Bunin, Georgy Ivanov, Zinaida Gippius, Leonid Zurov, Alexander Kuprin, Vladimir Nabokov, Vasily Nemirovich-Danchenko, Igor Severyanin, Teffi, Marina Tsvetayeva, Sasha Chyorny, Ivan Shmelyov and many others. This correspondence shows not only the cknowledgement of the authority of the newspaper and its editors. This correspondence gives the reader a broad spectrum of views about prominent figures of Russian emigration in the period between the two World Wars, all the correspondence being commented in detail by the authors of this fundamental edition. From that editorial correspondence we can lso notice the striving of the editorial board to influence political processes in Latvia, in particular, to influence Russian deputies (naturally, before the 15th of May , 1934).

Tatyana Feigmane. Latvian Russians in Historiography of Latvia from 1990-2010