100 Years Later

Re-examining the Russian Community in Dornach

[We are here today because of one man: Dr. Rudolf Steiner. These buildings, this

community, this world wide phenomenon, the Russians who came here, some of whom left while

others remained and returned, are all a tribute to his vision, his ability to identify and articulate the

spiritual science that for so many did and continues to provide answers at the very core of our

existence, and his personal magnetism that attracted people of talent, yes geniuses, to him and his

teachings. With all due respect and an admission that many here know and can speak of

Anthroposophy and Rudolf Steiner in a more informed fashion, I venture merely to shine a light on

the Russian community that in some small way contributed then in 1914 and whose legacy has

enriched this place and the memory of Dr. Steiner.]

It all began one might say with two letters, a case of mistaken identity. The Russian letter

А., the initial of Anna Alekseevna Bugaeva-Turgeneva,1 was found in a number of books that had

long been in the possession of Swetlana Mikhailovna Geier, the acclaimed translator of Dostoevsky

into German, subject of a wonderful documentary film, Die Frau mit den 5 Elefanten,2 but also the

translator of Andrei Bely's Memoirs both of Alexandr Blok and Rudolf Steiner.3 One of the books4

bore a similar but not identical handwritten indication of ownership: N. Turgeneva (Н. Тургенева),

where the difference between Russian А and Н (looking like the Roman letter H), was not to me at

least immediately apparent. This was not Asya, but her older sister, Natalia (Natasha) Pozzo-

Turgeneva (see the photoarchive at http://bdn-steiner.ru/modules.php?

name=Coppermine&file=thumbnails&album=70). But more of her later.

Perhaps it all began in February of 1914 when Andrei Bely and Asya Turgeneva came to

Dornach to be a part of this new Anthroposophical community and participate in the construction of

the BAU.5 But that too had antecedents. On May 6, 1912 Bely had sent a letter requesting a meeting

with Dr. Steiner to Marie von Sivers, fluent in Russian and the Doktor’s constant companion and

later second wife. A meeting between Rudolf Steiner, Bely and Asya would take place the next day.

I had become fascinated in this encounter when I translated Bely's letter to his friend (sometimes

foe) Aleksandr Blok in which Bely described the curious circumstances surrounding the letter.6 I

would ultimately, with the kind assistance of Dr. Walter Kugler, publish in Russian and English this

letter that had resided at the Rudolf Steiner Nachlass.7

A word about coincidence and the study of Andrei Bely and Rudolf Steiner. I was once told

by Frederic Kozlik,8 author of a largely ignored, misaligned, but still unmatched study of the

influence of Anthroposophy in Bely's works, that one need not look simply or too closely for purely

rational explanations of events. Rather there were occurrences of events at a given time,

coincidences, Zufälle, совпадения, for that date, May 6 is my own birthday, as well as Sigmund

Freud's, and my wife's maiden name is Dorothea Elisabeth Steiner.

I had first visited Dornach in the summer of 1974, having defended a dissertation on Bely

that spring, but received little encouragement or sense of Russianness in Dornach. Most who had

come in 1914 and subsequently had passed on. There was a certain reluctance to discuss Bely, who

according to émigré scholars had abandoned Anthroposophy and the teachings of Steiner. An article

by Asya in defense and explanation of Bely and his relationship to Steiner had appeared in a little

read émigré journal, Мосты. Asya herself had a very complicated relationship to Bely, in particular

after 1916 when he was summoned back to Russia for military service, although he would never

serve.9

All in all it would be years before I returned. But Swetlana Geier, who labored mostly

unnoticed and largely unappreciated by her colleagues at the University of Freiburg was already

working on Zeichen der Mörgenrote, a German translation of Bely's Memoirs of Blok. Swetlana’s

penchant for altering titles has been problematic. While signaling the essence of a work it often

obscured the Russian original. So her translation of Bely's Memoirs of Steiner, Verwandeln des

Lebens (The Transformation or Metamorphosis of a Life) remained largely unnoticed by Western

and Russian literary scholars, the latter still hesitant to write about Bely and this spiritual aspect of

his life.

These Memoirs of Steiner in German translation ultimately resulted in a new appreciation of

Bely inside Anthroposophical circles. As one of the most brilliant and vibrant first hand witness

accounts of Dr. Steiner and the fledgling Dornach community, it was also what attracted me to

Swetlana Geier. Our exchange of letters, from my younger, more daring, immodest self, lead to our

first encounter in her home in Freiburg. That visit would be repeated over the next thirty years

whenever I was in need of help on my own translations of Bely's The Christened Chinaman (1991)

and Glossolalia (2003).

That relationship and the fact that I had stayed with her and worked on the books and

manuscript of Bely's memoirs lead Swetlana’s family via Taja Gut to think of me when it came time

to pass on the so-called Belyj Reisebibliothek. The title here (Bely’s Traveling Library) refers to

what was in part supposedly books by Bely left in Dornach with Asya when he returned to Russia in

the fall of 1916. This set of some 100 books and documents was given to me after Swetlana's

passing through the graces of Taja Gut, with whom I had collaborated in the trilingual edition of

Glossolalie. I was placed in contact with Swetlana's granddaughter, Sophia (Sonja) Geier and her

aunt, Michaela Götte (Swetlana’s daughter), in Freiburg. I met with them both and was given two

cartons of dusty books that I transported to Middlebury in September of 2011.

The task seemed simple: to find a home for the books that had been kept separate from the

larger library and archives of Frau Geier that now are housed at the Library of the Albert-Ludwigs-

Universität in Freiburg. As a scholar and not a librarian I have always viewed archives as having a

two-fold function: first, to preserve the documents of the past; but second, to provide access to

contemporary scholars and future generations for examination and study. I was keenly aware of the

geographical isolation of Middlebury, this tiny Vermont village, notwithstanding its globally

oriented College. Thus I set out first to establish a digital archive of the collection. Together with

my student, Vanda Gaidamovic, I established an online presence for the books. This project is

ongoing but essentially completed ( http://sites.middlebury.edu/belyj/). Here each book is indexed

and accompanied by a photo of the cover, inside publication data, and other points of interest when

present.

As I examined the volumes closely, each book seemed to reveal another mystery, another

treasure, another pathway. Those with the name of Asya, either dedicated to her or with her name

written inside, were easy to identify.10 But the large majority had no such indication. There was a

book with a handwritten dedication to Alexandr Pozzo, husband of Natalia Turgeneva who was

Asya’s sister.11 Another was dedicated to Margarita Sabashnikova-Voloshina from the translator,

Vladimir Nilender.12 One, as mentioned above, bears the name of N. Turgeneva inside. A special

find was a copy of Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason in Russian with the ex libris stamp of

Bely's father, Professor of Mathematics Nikolai Bugaev.13 (Bely was the penname adopted by the

son, Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev to avoid confusion with and embarrassment to his more famous

father.) The book now has been returned to the Andrei Bely Memorial Apartment-Museum in

Moscow, where it had once resided a century ago.14

But there were others that had little or nothing to do with Andrei Bely or his fellow Russians

in Dornach. Several books bore the name of Elsa Mahler, who upon some research was identified as

the first Professor of Russian at the University of Basel.15 (cf.

http://sites.middlebury.edu/belyj/elsamahle/). Another set of books bore the imprint of Bibliothek

Altenheim Dornstadt.16

So what combined to bring these books together, where had they come from and equally

important where was the rightful home for these volumes?

The answers to date would be gleamed by trips to Freiburg and the helpful guidance of Dr.

Franz Leithold, himself a former student of Swetlana Geier. At the University of Basel where they

had just held a special exhibit and set of activities to commemorate Frau Doktor Elsa Mahler, I met

with Prof. Dr. Thomas Grob. Others pointed me in the direction and Dr. Felix Ingold. I also spoke

with Valentina Rykova and my colleagues at the Andrei Bely Museum in Moscow who had

received from books of Asya from her. Finally there were volumes bearing the seal of the

Bibliothek des Goetheanums. And it was those that brought me here, first, mistakenly as it turned

out to the Rudolf Steiner Nachlass, but then fortuitously to this Library, to the Dokumentation am

Goetheanum and to Johannes Nilo.

Here what was originally seen as a fifteen-minute discussion led to an entire afternoon in

which I barely had time to get an overview of what treasures might be here. I was headed to Berlin

where I had done work for the preceding twenty-five years on the Russian-Berlin, the years 1921-

1923 when Bely along with many others had made that city the literary capital of Russian writers

and publishers. Having been shown, however, the apartment of Asya that only in the past few years

has become a place of interest and accessible, I returned to Dornach later in June of 2012.

Here for several days I explored the library holdings and what appeared to be minimal

archival materials connected to Asya.17 There was a single carton that contained some documents,

the most important being a typescript differing from the actual printed article in Mosty.18 This was

Asya’s first defense in Russian of her husband and reply to an earlier article by Fedor Stepun. The

omitted passages contain a brief few page history of Steiner, valuable because Asya like Bely was

one of the first and closest collaborators with the Doktor. There is also a curious omission in the

article about Bely and Steiner. Following the line “Лично для меня он был как родной отец…

годы в Дорнахе…вторым университетом.» The omitted phrase of Bely’s is “И видел и близко

знал (в доме отца) таких великих людей, как Владимир Соловьев и Лев Толстой, но никогда в

жизни не встречал человека, который по своему величию, по силе и глубине творчества был

бы равен ему.»19

But there were other cartons. One contained materials of Margarita Voloshina-

Sabashnikova, the artist and author, who was a witness to those times and who like Asya and

Natasha and Aleksandr Pozzo remained committed to Anthroposophy and the community her life

long. There was also a simple carton of Natasha’s papers, fascinating and still to be studied that

might help us place this equally remarkable woman in perspective. But the final two cartons

containing ostensibly the papers of Aleksandr Pozzo, Natasha’s husband, yielded the important

documents that have brought us here this week. There was an extensive correspondence—mostly

one way from Bely to Natasha and one touching, sensible, lovely lady-like response by Natasha to

Bely. There was also a set of letters from Emil Medtner to Natasha, shedding additional light on

that relationship.

I will not describe in any detail these letters, but simply note that they have been transcribed,

as best as could be, into Russian and translations of them into German are being prepared for

publication by Christoph Hellmundt. Their fate in Russian and perhaps English is still to be

determined.

Why should we care? Russians have their saying: Бог любит тройцу: God loves a

threesome. There were several triangles, Steiner-Bely-Asya, Steiner-Bely-Medtner, Bely-Medtner-

Natasha; Bely-Natasha-Asya, Asya-Natasha-Marie von Sivers, and undoubtedly others. But what is

important about these documents is that they provide additional insight into Bely during his

turbulent years of 1914-1915-1916. They do so by also offering an unfiltered, richer picture of

Bely's brief but stormy infatuation with Natasha. This period and Natasha have largely been

overlooked, perhaps intentionally, by Bely in his later published three volumes of memoirs. In fact

except for a work not intended for publication, Материал к биографии (интимный), in German as

Geheime Aufzeichnungen, the central role of Natasha in these years needs re-evaluation as to how

she might figure in Bely’s poetry and prose. Both were used almost as a replacement for the

Freudian and Jungian psychology to which his one time friend and mentor, Emil Medtner,

ultimately turned. What did or do we know of Bely and Natasha? How did this impact (perhaps with

the additional motivation of jealousy) on Bely’s Рудольф Штейнер и Гете в мировозрении

современности,20 his caustic reply to Medtner?

One theme has brought us together. The centrality of the Russian community here in

Dornach and what has been its contribution to the subsequent legacy of Rudolf Steiner. If nothing

else, the Swetlana Geier gift has re-awakened an interest in that Russian colony some 100 years ago.

It has lead to a re-evaluation of the valuable collection of Russian books here in the library, and the

return of others to their rightful home. It has resulted in the first to my knowledge discovery and

serious examination of archival materials related to those Russians who were here. They join what

might be still unexplored documents in the Rudolf Steiner Nachlass. There is also the renewed

interest in Asya and the now uttered aloud wonderment as to why there has to date been no book

devoted to her art, her life, her contributions and influence on art in Anthroposophy, not just in this

building with its windows, but in her designs for cover art of many books.

I want to thank Johannes for opening the doors, the rooms, the treasures that are here and his

singular dedication to preserving and recapturing before it was too late the memory of 100 years ago

to make it come alive today. I also want to thank those of you who have come from far corners to

share your memories and scholarly insights into The Bau and the Russian Genius.

Appendix One

Appendix 2

Pozzo, Natalie

Titel:Mappe_Nr: 1000 1 9 17 . 04 . 1 7

Four sheets. 17.IV.17 Postmarked envelope to Frau Natalie Pozzo. Absender Emil Medtner; photograph of Medtner enclosed; 9.IV. 17. “Дорогая Наташа! A note to accompany the photo(s). 16.IV.17, Дорогая Наташа! Four page Din 5 folded in which Medtner claims he is enclosing an open letter to Bely concerning his attacks on Medtner and his book.

Mappe_Nr: 1001 F o t o c op y Fotocopy: Three sheets. Two postcards, one letter. Russian.1916. Postcard depicting Lugano to Natasha from Assia; note on bottom signed Бор. Буг.; 1916. Postcard depicting Lago di Lugano signed Б. Бугаев. Note on top with letter А[ся]; 10 May [19]19. Letter from Belyj to Natasha asking about Assia's health and indicating he has sent money.

Mappe_Nr: 1002One sheet. 5/18 August 1907. Letter speaks of a year of our separation. Unsigned.

Mappe_Nr: 1003 a n L i li a n H a m il t o n One sheet. 25 August/8 September 1917. In envelope addressed to Lilian Hamilton, Haus Brandis. «Машенька. Вдень Твоего Ангела поговорю с Тобой.» Signed “Брат Твой любящий, Александр.

Mappe_Nr: 1004 1 9 17 . 07 . 1 8 One double sheet. 5/18 July 1917. Signed A[lexandr?].

Mappe_Nr: 1005 1 9 17 . 06 . 1 8 One sheet 5/18 June 1917. Signed Александр. Also child’s writing in margin, name of Sasha.

Mappe_Nr: 1006 1 9 17 . 08 . 2 4 One sheet. 11/24 August 1917. Contains dictated letter to Mama from Sasha with her childlike signature affixed.

Mappe_Nr: 1007 1 9 18 . 09 . 0 2 One sheet. 20 August/2 September 1918. Дорогая Наташа, письмо мое из Польши Ты вероятно получать, . . .»

Mappe_Nr: 1008 1 9 18 . 09 . 2 5 25.IX.1918. Envelope to Frau N. Pozzo. Inside eight letters as follows: 1/14.December.1917. «Наташа, вероятно ввоскресенье уйду в армию-. . .» signed Александр.; 16/29 December 1917. «Моя Наташа, в среды вернулся вТранцунт [?]и нашел здесь 4 Твои письма за разное время.» signed Твой Саша. 25 December 1917/7 January1918. «Ташенька [и?], Вчера в русский сочельник выпал снег: . . .» On back in different hand; 18/31 December1917. No addresses, but signed «Целую много раз, Саша. Целуй Аси[sic], привет друзьям.»; 13/26 January1918. «Таши, сегодня месяц, как я снова вернулся в жизнь армии, . . .»; 2/15 February 1918. Наташа, я вТифлисе уже несколько дней, . . .» ; 28 February/13 March 1918. Дорогая Наташенька, вчера произошлоследующее: . . .» signed «Люблю Тебя и целую. Александр.» 6/19 March 1918. «Наташа» signed «любимаямоя, единственная, Александр.»

Mappe_Nr: 1009 1 9 18 . 09 . 0 8 One double sheet. 27 August/8 September 1918. Letter to My sister Natasha [but not from Assia].

Mappe_Nr: 1010 N o t e s f r o m l e c t u r e One sheet N.D. notes from lecture partly in Russian, part in German

Mappe_Nr: 1011 1 9 18 . 11 . 1 7 One sheet. 4/17 November 1918. Signed Твой Саша.

Mappe_Nr: 1012 W ei c h e s H o l z One envelope with Letterhead: „Goetheanum Dornach (Schweiz)“. Frau Pozzo Haus Wendhof – empty. „1 Karren weiches Holz”

Mappe_Nr: 1013 H i f o r s 2 1 / 1 1 . ? ? One sheet 21.XI. ** [perhaps 1919] . In German “Liebe Natalie”

Mappe_Nr: 1014 J e v e r r a i One sheet. ND In French no signature

Mappe_Nr: 1015 1 9 20 . 01 . 2 6 One envelope. Postmarked on arrival in Dornach 26.1.20. Addresses to Natalie Pozzo from Aleksander Pozzo, Warszawa. Inside five letters. 21 October/3 November 1919. «Наташенька, письмо Твое к С. Н. от 3 января с.года мы получили на днях.» «Саша»; 11/24 December 1919. «Наташенька, разумеется, Ты должна жить от насотдельно, в условиях для Тебя естественных и необходимых.» «Целую Тебя, Саша.»; 5-12 January 1920.«Наташенька, я уже писал, что принимаю вполне Твою независимость, . . .» « Целую крепко и люблю.Саша.» 1/14 January 1920. «Ангел мой,! Поздний вечер-все притихло.» «Саша»; 9/22 January 1920. « . ..милая, подойди, как ранъше бывало…» «Саша».

Mappe_Nr: 1016 1 9 20 . 02 . 0 3 One sheet in envelope. 3 February (20 January) 1920. «Наташи! Со всех струн души гремит зов: . . .» Not signed but envelope has Alexander Pozzo as sender.

Mappe_Nr: 1017 1 9 20 . 06 . 0 4 One card in envelope. Envelope postmarked on arrival in Dornach 4.VI.20. “милая Мама”, Postcard inside with note from Maria Pozzo, staying at same address as father.

Mappe_Nr: 1018 n o d a te Two sheets. One envelope with name of Alex Pozzo with address in Poland and one half sheet of torn letter inRussian.

Mappe_Nr: 1019 1 9 21 . 02 . 1 5 One letter in envelope. 15.II.1921. One envelope. Letter to Наталье Алекесеевне Поххо. Letter in Russian fromA.V. Uyttenhoven from Riga concerning unanswered letters to Assia.

Mappe_Nr: 1020 1 9 21 . 10 . 0 6 Six sheets. Postcards. 6 Okt. 1921. Four from Milano, three with date handwritten, and postmarked but no addressee, one signed Pinelta Rohli. 27.9.1921. Postcard from Milano to Signora Pozzo signed Pinelta Rohli. One postcard empty no date of Basel Der neue badische Bahnhof.

Mappe_Nr: 1021One sheet. Envelope: Zentralstelle für Fremdenpolizei to Frau Nathalia Pozzo. Typed and stamped 'Officiel'. No contents. Stamp on back: pehaps 25.II.20 - 8 Dornach Solothurn

Mappe_Nr: 1022Four sheets. Blank envelope. Three calling cards in Russian : Наталия Алексееена Тургенева.

Mappe_Nr: 1023 1 9 22 . 10 . 0 1 Three sheets. 1.10.22 Envelope postmarked Kobenhavn to Frau N. Pozzo in Stuttgart; Letter «Liebe Frau Pozzo!» Signed G. Wreichner ; 6 August 1923. Letter to «Liebe Frau Pozzo.» Signed Gudrun Wreichner.

Mappe_Nr: 1024 1 9 22 . 11 . 1 0 Three sheets. Letters from daughter. 10.XI.22 «Милая Мама как пожеваеш» [sic]. Note in German on top upside down “Liebe Frau Pozzo, “; 20.12.23. «Милая Мама как пожеваеш?» [sic]. Signed Маша. Third letter has no date, signed Маша.

Mappe_Nr: 1025 1 9 22 . 12 . 0 9 One sheet. 9. Dez. 1922 “Liebe Frau Pozzo!” Signed Waldemar Coste.

Mappe_Nr: 1026 1 9 23 . 03 . 0 9 One sheet. 9/3 1923. Typed letter to Frau N. Pozzo-Turgenieff. Concerns visa to Helsingfors.

Mappe_Nr: 1027 1 9 23 . 04 . 0 3 Two sheets. 3.IV.1923. «Es ist eigentlich ein wenig schwer für mich dir zu schreiben. . . . » Signed «Sally» letter is from Helsingfors.

Mappe_Nr: 1028 1 9 23 . 04 . 1 6 One sheet. 16 April 1923. «Liebe Frau Pozzo.» Signed Ihre Elsa Bololt [?] (Boldt, Elsa; Helsinfors) pb

Mappe_Nr: 1029 K a r te m i t N a m e n One sheet. No date. Card with severаl names. e.g. Henriette Voss-Schrader;

Mappe_Nr: 1030 1 9 23 . 12 . 1 8 One sheet. 18.12.1923. Postcard to N. Pozzo-Turgenieff from Fanny Langstrom. Picture postcard from Helsingfors- Helsinki. (Corner with postage stamp missing)

Mappe_Nr: 1031 1 9 24 . 06 . 0 2 One sheet. 2.Juni 1924. Sehr geehter Frau Pozzo!” Signature not decipherable.

Mappe_Nr: 1032 S a t u r n & S u n One sheet. Notes and sketches of stages of Saturn and the Sun in Russian.

Mappe_Nr: 1033One sheet. Unfinished application to Polish Embassy in Helsingfors for Visa. Aim of visit is written in French “visite au parent.” Birth year listed as 1888, therefore this is Natasha.

Mappe_Nr: 1034One sheet. Letter no date “Liebe Frau Pozzo, Mascha ist gut u. vergnügt angekommen.” Signed {indecipherable}. (evtl. Strauss)pb

Mappe_Nr: 1035 O b i t ua r y One sheet. Photocopy of obituary notice for Natalie Pozzo-Turgenieff by Marie Steiner. [She notes that “Sie hoffe, auch solche in ihren Vorurteilen vernagelte Gegner wie Berdajajeff und Bulgakoff zur Einsicht zu bringen,- was natürlich illusörisch war, da es denen nicht um Tatsachen ging, sondern um verbissenen Antаgonismus.]

Mappe_Nr: 1036 1 9 42 . 08 . 2 5 Two sheets. Identical document noting that the urn with the ashes of Madam Natalie Pozzo Turgenieff deceased inParis 14 August 1942 has ben placed in the crypt in the Goetheanum on 25 August 1942.

Mappe_Nr: 1037 1 9 90 . 10 . 0 4 Fourteen sheets. One envelope from Janet Maintier Stuttgart to Frau Elsy Ruschmann Dornach. 4.Okt.1990: Letter two pages from Maintier requesting information about Masha Pozzo and family; Two page photocopy of answer; Six pages of copies of photos; 27.X.90. One page photocopy of page two of additional questions from Maintier with comments in ink ; 4 February 1991. Letter to Maintier from Ruschmann; one photocopy of pictures of father, Natasha and Masha.

Mappe_Nr: 1038 1 9 42 . 08 . 1 4 One sheet. Note that Natalie-Pozzo –Turgenieff gest 14. August 1942.

Mappe_Nr: 1039 1 9 8 1 A k t i o n s- B r i e f One copy of Aktions-Brief Oktober 1981. This is brochure from Aktion Dritter Weg in Hamburg. On top is handwritten note; NB liegt beim NL auf!.

Mappe_Nr: 1040 C h i ld 's Po e m Note No date in English “Child’s Poem. Escape at Bedtime by Robert Louis Stevenson.”

Mappe_Nr: 2001Photocopy of photo of Natasha and Alexander with children

Mappe_Nr: 2002One piece. Notebook written from one side in Russian, from the other in German. Titel in Russian Шмидт. «Избиографии А.Н. Шмидт. Родилась 1851 умерла 1905 г. German begins with Reinhart “In Wald und Karn erklingt’s wie leises Singen.”

Mappe_Nr: 2003One sheet. Handwritten note in German Annemore Hertha Schmidt

Donnerstag, 28. Juni 2012

Mappe_Nr: 2004One piece. 1913. Notebook in Russian “Воспоминание». She writes in reverse chronological order. Then on 27June 1913 resumes forward. Then several sheets with notes inserted. Resumes 11 January 1917. Contains letter from 6 March/22 February 1902 И так Ты жива и, кажется, здорова, а Доктор не отошел: . . .» from husband signed Саша.; Notebook begins to alternate between Russian and German.; eight inserted pages at the end.

Mappe_Nr: 2005One piece. 1912 Black notbook. Мюнхенский курс. Notes to series of lectures written from both sides in Russian.

Mappe_Nr: 2006One piece. 1915. Notebook with title «Лекции с февраля по май 1915 г.

Mappe_Nr: 2007One piece. 1913. Green with berry design notebook. Inside А. Поццо. 1913г. Notes to lectures and assorted annotations.

Mappe_Nr: 2008One sheet. Brochure for Der Turm Daliborka in German, French and Czexh.

Mappe_Nr: 2009One piece. Blue notebook entitled Kindereurythmie.

Mappe_Nr: 2010Six sheets. Notes with drawings with initial M.P. [appear related to Eurythmie].

Mappe_Nr: 2011Twenty two sheets. Receipts, bank statements bills dated from 11 November 1916 to 20.10 23

Donnerstag, 28. Juni 2012

Appendix 3

Bugaieff, Assia (Anna)

Titel: S c h r i f te n au s de m N a c h l a ss Mappe_Nr: 0001 D r ei k ö n i g s pie l

Two sheets. Two postcards identical, one with notation: 62 A. Turgenieff Dreikönigspiel. [Presentation of gifts byMagi]. On back: Motive aus dem Oberuferer Dreikönigspiel Assja Turgenieff.

Mappe_Nr: 0002 C h r i s t geb u r t s pie l Two sheets. Two postcards identical, one with notation: 63 A. Turgenieff Christgeburtspiel. [Mary and Joseph behold the child in the manger]. On back: Motive aus dem Oberuferer Christgeburtspiel Assja Turgenieff.

Mappe_Nr: 0003 K r e m a t io n Original and carbon copy of cremation document. Frau Assia B u g a I e f f – Turgenieff Urnen_ Dornach, Dorneckestrasse Stastitek [sic] Gestorben am 16.Oktober 19661966.19.X. Kremationsfeier in BaselKeinerlei VerrechnungenDie von Frau Dr, Schachenmann- Teichert angerfertigte URNEwird in die Rudolf Steiner- Halde gebracht.

Mappe_Nr: 0004 K r e m a t ion s f e i e r Three carbon copies of Kremationsfeier fürAssja Turgenieff BugaieffMittwoch, 19. Oktober 196615.30[includes “Tedeum” “Im Urbeginne war das Wort” then “Worte zu den farbigen Glasfenstern des ersten Goetheanum- Baues” by Rudolf Steiner. Ansprache Herr Jakob Streit, Ansprache Herr Dr. Robert Friedenthal. “Air” by J.S. Bach. Five readings from Rudolf Steiner: “Unsere Liebe folge dir”; “Geist deiner Seele”; “Die ihr wachet über Sphärenseelen”; “Du meines Erdenraumes Geist”; “Aus Gottessein.”

Mappe_Nr: 0005 N o t e s Five sheets. Notes some in shorthand about Frau Bugaieff. Sheet five contains note [incorrect] that “kam nach Dornach . . . “ “circa Mai 1914.” [Actually it was the beginning of February 1914 according to the notes kept by Andrej Belyj].

Mappe_Nr: 0006 A b r e c hnu n g K r e m a t ion s f e i e r

On esheet. Ist Abrechnung gemacht für folgende Beträge betr. KREMATIONSFEIER für Frau Assia Bugaieff- Turgeneiff.

Mappe_Nr: 0007 z u G r upp e n b i l d de r A r b e i t e r u n d K ü n s t l e r Four sheets. Four page photocopy of article Assja Turgeneiff “Zu dem Gruppenbild der Arbeiter und Künstler am Goetheanum. In Deutsche Mitteilungen (N.D.), pp. 1518. [The photo identifies Miss Maryon, Max Schleutermann and Herr Sonderegger. Assia appears to be in the photo bottom left.

Mappe_Nr: 0008 S . P r o k o f f ie f a n U. W e r n e r One sheet. Copy of e-mail from 16 Feb 2007 from Uwe Werner to Sergej Prokofieff, with original e-mail from Prokofieff in which he notes he has read the Assia ms. “Er handelt von der komplizierten Beziehung A. Beliys [sic] zu Rudolf Steiner, die zu verschiedenen Missverständnissesn in seinem literarischen Umkreis (in Moskau und bei den russischen Emigranten) führte, und die A. Turgeniff versucht richtig zu stellen.”

Mappe_Nr: 0009 S . P r o k o f f ie f a n U. W e r n e r( 2 ) One sheet. Copy of e-mail from 22 Feb 2007 from Sergei Prokofieff to Uwe Werner. “Mir scheint der Aufwand nicht lohnenswert, den Aufsatz von Assia Turgenierw [sic] zu übersetzen und zu veröffentlichen. Er ist nicht besonders gut argumentiert und betrifft Angelegenheiten, die heute niemand mehr richtig kennt.”

Donnerstag, 28. Juni 2012

Mappe_Nr: 0010 T y p o s k r i p t A . B Eighteen sheets. Seventeen page typescript with corrections by hand. Actually seventeen and a half pages. Between page one and two is three quarter sheet cut off from page one which now has new paragraph glued in. But the text of the article follows this order, i.e. using the unnumbered page as 1a.This text “Отношения Андрея Белого к Рудольфу Штейнеру: По свидетельствам очевидцев” would serve as the basis for the article authored by Assia in the emigree journal Mosty, XIII-XIV (1967-1969, pp. 236-251 entitled«Андрей Белый и Рудольф Штейнер» This explanation was prompted by an article of the exact same title byFedor Stepun in Mosty, XI (1965), pp. 366-368.There are some slight variations in the text; some correction of her Russia, phrasing but also the sense of an editor's hand. For example, Assia's «Doctor Steiner» frequently becomes simply «Steiner.» The ms regularly capitalizes and the print version uses lower case for the word Anthroposhy. Assia sometimes uses Bugaev, sometimes Belyj; this is redacted out of the article.

The alterations with some significance are as follows with ms. omissions in square brackets:

On page 6 of ms. there is an omission in printed text on page 243 of four lines. They follow the passage :Как Кельнский Собор среди города, он возвышал над [людьми нашего уровня] нашим уровнем. [Что и нашевремя потеряло веры Ленского:«Что есть избранные судьбамиЛюдей священные друзья» . . .В чем и обвинить его бы несправедливо.]

On page 6 of ms. «мы входим в период, когда архангел Михаил» is replaced in article by «мы входим впериод когда архангел Гавриил». 243.

From page 7-10 Assia recalls the biography of Doctor Steiner. These pages are omitted in the article and are indicated simply by a line of periods on p. 244.

On page 11 soме of Assia's rhetoric is softened in the published version. The original reads: «Мистерии –ДрамыРудольфа Штейенра, разыгранные трупой, по большей части, состоящей из диллетантов.». The article states simply on page 44: «которые играла трупа, состоящая из любителей.»

Page 12 has no such line or footnote in the article on page 246. “Должно сказать, что это не повлияло на ихличные отношения по возвращении [sic] Бугаева в Россию.»There is an extended footnote apparently by Assia [?] concerning the tragic fate of Sergej Solov’ev.

Page 12 contains words of Morgenstern that are omitted without comment on p 246 of printed article. After «световые дали.»[«Из красоты идет и в красоту ведет твой труд . . .Ты пробуждаешь чувство головокружительных высот» . . .передает незадолго до смерти Христиан Моргенштерн, переживания этих лекций. »]

Pge. 14 has no corresponding footnote on bottom of page 248.

Page 15 has sentence omitted with simple ellipses in printed text, as Assia quotes from an article in Grani, XVII (1953) by Н. Кошеватый.

…..вторым университетом.» [«Я видел и близко знал (в доем отца) таких великих людей, как ВладимирСоловьев и Лев Толстой, но никогда в жизни не встречал человека, который по своему величию, по силе иглубине творчества был бы равен ему.»] [I had seen and knew up close (in my father's house) such great men as Vladimir Solviev and Lev Tolstoi, but I had never met anyone in my life, who on the basis of his grandeur, the strength and depth of his creative work, who was equal to him.]

Page 15 has much more about Belyj’s recollections of Steiner than are printed . They are merely summarized in paragraphs at bottom of p. 249.

Page 16 has an important phrase omitted in article that might be misunderstood nowin the article on page 250. The full phrase with my brackets reads: “Мы ничего не знаем о травле [направленной против] Белого.» The article adds what is not in ms, «в эти годы.»

[Summation: Assia is following carefully all the articles about her acquaintances being published in Мосты in the1960s. In reacting to the 1965 article by Fedor Stepun, she must have felt a compelling need to correct the record strong enough to produce this seventeen page single spaced Russian document that was published only in 1968, already after her own death.There are several pages here in Russian about Doctor Steiner and his biography as Assia remembers. They alone are certainly worth being made available, in German translation, Russian, and English. The original article appeared in an emigree journal unlikely to be availble in the Soviet Union at that time, and Western scholars outside the Russian emigree community in Europe were more interested in Solzhenitsyn and Soviet internal politics in dealing with its writers. The editing also reveals a bias against including positive commentary about Dr. Rudolf Steienr, continuing the tradition of his literry colleauges in finding Belyj as victim and Dr. Steiner and Assia herself as

Donnerstag, 28. Juni 2012

somehow at fault for his tortured spirit.]

Mappe_Nr: 0011 W i e w ei t e r One sheet. No date «in der stille meines Krankenzimmer musste ich mir die Frage stellen 'Wie wird es weiter mit mir gehen.? Der um Bugaeff Erlebnissen . . .» On back side is receipt for Frau Turgenief from Käslaube Drogerei in Basel for 18.III.1966.

Mappe_Nr: 0012 V o r t r a g W i t t k e s One sheet. Pencil handwritten notes entitled «Vortrag Witkes 7. Juni 1968.» [It contains notes including one «lernt1912 durch C Baron Waleen Dr Steiner kennen.»]

Mappe_Nr: 0013 D e a r A ss i a One sheet. Letter from unknown author Date indecipherable, «Дорогая Ася.»

Mappe_Nr: 0014 c o v e r d e s ig n One sheet possible cover design in blue ink in style typical of Assia's for her Erinnerungen an Rudolf Steiner und dieEntstehungszeit des Dornacher Baues. A. Turgenieff. [Note this was not used for the eventual cover.]

Mappe_Nr: 0015 u n p l a t z ie r te N a c h t r ä g e One sheet. Torn, simply has «Unplacierte Nachträge, ….

Mappe_Nr: 0016 S e i t e n Twenty eight sheets, three blank, some just parts of a page. No date. Mostly handwritten , some typed pages with corrections that appear to be related to Errinnerungen. Some of these pages are in the actual book, some are significantly different from the published version, in particular the proposed Vorwort.]

Mappe_Nr: 0017Two sheets. Photocopy of Assia working in glass with large cutting tool originally from 12.III.1933; Photocopy ofObituary notice signed Jerome Bessenich in Mitt. Blatt 1966.

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1http://tlt.poetree.ru/news/andrej_belyj_i_anna_turgeneva_istorija_odnoj_ljubvi/2010-09-07-525

2 The entire film in German and partially in Russian can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4gdHta_12I

3 Im Zeichen der Morgenröte. Erinnerungen an Aleksandr Blok, Verwandeln des Lebens: Erinnerungen an Rudolf Steiner.4

Бердяев, Николай.  О. Сергей Булгаков, et alii. Переселение душ: Сборник статей.     (Париж: YMCA Press, 1935). Inside signature of N. Turgeneva. Natasha wrote an article of rebuttal to the article by Bulgakov. Entire book scanned. Belongs to Natasha her name inside. This books with the letter N begins the search for Natasha. http://sites.middlebury.edu/belyj/about-belyj-reisebibliothek/books-in-the-collection/books-а-д/переселение-душ/

5 Before it was renamed as the Goetheanum, the original construction in Dornach was called the Johannesbau. http://anthrowiki.at/Erstes_Goetheanum#Das_erste_Goetheanum_.281913-1922.29

6 "First Meeting with Rudolph Steiner: A Letter from Andrei Belyi to Aleksandr Blok (May 14, 1912)." Trans. and notes by Cindy Young and Thomas R. Beyer, Jr. Journal for Anthroposophy, XXXIV (Autumn, 1981), 70-76. Reprinted in Reminiscences of Rudolf Steiner, ed. Chisty Barnes (Adonis: 1987), pp. 75-81.7

cf. "Belyj and Steiner: The Berlin Period 1921-1923." Andrej Belyj Society Newsletter, 6 (1987), 13-26.http://community.middlebury.edu/~beyer/BelyBull/belynews6a.pdf"Andrej Bely's First and Last Encounters with Rudolf Steiner: Two Letters to Marie von-Sivers." Journal for Anthroposophy, XLVI (Winter 1987), 71-76.

8 Frederic C Kozlik , L'influence de l'anthroposophie sur loeuvre d'Andrei Bielyi (French Edition) (Frankfurt: R.G. Fischer, 1981).9

I examined this relationship and attempted to correct the historical record in my "Andrej Belyj's Reminiscences of Rudolf Steiner: A Review Article." Slavic and East European Journal, XXV, 4 (Winter, 1981), 76-86.( http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/307157?uid=3739696&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=211040679420930. See also http://community.middlebury.edu/~beyer/Trier/

10 cf. Поэты Пушкинской поры: Сборник стихов. Под ред. Ю.Н. Верховский. (Москва: Изд. М. И С. Сабашниковых, 1919). http://sites.middlebury.edu/belyj/about-belyj-reisebibliothek/books-in-the-collection/books-а-д/поэты-пушкинской-попы/. And Блок, Александр. Ночные часы. (Москва: Мусагет, 1911). Inside in Roman characters is the name: A. Turgenieff. (http://sites.middlebury.edu/belyj/asya-turgenieva/sample-text-3/блок-ночные-часы/)

11 Элиасберг, Александр и Давид. составители. Русский Парнасс . (Leipzig: Insel Verlag, 1920). [A collection of poetry from Lomonosov through the Acmeists.] Моему любимому учителю и приятелю, Alexandr Pozzo.  Dornach 1921, Walleen, Благородный школьник. .  [Pozzo was the husband of NataljaTurgeneva, Baron C.A. Walleen of Stockholm is mentioned in 1916 visit to US and 1922 in Stuttgart/Dornach]. (http://sites.middlebury.edu/belyj/about-belyj-reisebibliothek/books-in-the-collection/books-р-я/элиасберг-александр-и-давид-составит/). The

name Pozzo is also found in: Печковский, А. П. перевод. Цветочки Святого Франциска Ассизского.  Вступительная статья С. Н. Дурылина. (Москва: Мусагет, 1913). (http://sites.middlebury.edu/belyj/about-belyj-reisebibliothek/books-in-the-collection/books-л-п/1229-2/)

12 Гераклит Еффеский.  Фрагменты. Пер. [и предисл.] Владимира Нилендера. (Москва: Мусагет, 1910). The book is dedicated to Margarita Voloshina (Sabashnikova). The first wife of Voloshin who lived in Dornach before moving to Stuttgart. (http://sites.middlebury.edu/belyj/about-belyj-reisebibliothek/books-in-the-collection/books-е-к/еффеский-фрагменты/)

13 The book and its entire contents can be viewed at http://sites.middlebury.edu/belyj/sample-text-2/84-2/. This volume that had once been in the Bugaev home was returned to the Andrej Belyj Memorial Apartment Museum in Moscow in April of 2013. Cf “Белая магия чисел“ Культура, ТВ 24, 2.5.2013 http://www.vesti.ru/videos?vid=504458

14 http://kvartira-belogo.guru.ru/museum/The site contains invaluable links to biographcial and bibliographical information.15

(cf. http://sites.middlebury.edu/belyj/elsamahle/).16

http://sites.middlebury.edu/belyj/about-belyj-reisebibliothek/books-in-the-collection/books-а-д/биск-рильке/) The library at the Dornstadt home for the elderly in Southwestern Germany.  The Altenheim Dornstadt was opened in 1951 to accommodate elderly displaced persons. Some of the books for the libraries followed the elderly from internment camps, others came from the Tolstoi Foundation in Munich (cf.p.7). The story of the Altenheim is recounted in Altenzentrum Altenheim und Altenpflegeheim mit Altenpflegeschule in Dornstadt (Evangelische Heimstiftung e.V. Stuttgart, nd.)17

See the appendices for the archival descriptions of these materials.18

А. Тургенева, “Андрей Белый и Рудольф Штейенр,” Мосты, XIII-XIV, 1967-1968, 236-251.

19 Found on p. 15 of the corrected typescript. In the article see p. 249.20

The Russian text can be found at: http://vk.com/doc67072087_213999515?hash=a2d6c7f6a49c22344d&dl=fe7bf37ae52858cfd4