Irena S. Verblovskaia and Revolt I. Pimenov Correspondence

Collection

Identifier: MSE/REE 0018

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The bulk of the materials include personal correspondence between Irena S. Verblovskaia and Revolt I. Pimenov written during their imprisonment for "anti-Soviet" activities (1958-1963). The collection also contains an assortment of original photographs of the Soviet era human rights activists, political prisoners, dissidents as well as selected letters from Ernst Semenovich Orlovskii (1929-2003), Boris Borisovich Vail (1939-2010), and Pimenov's father Ivan Gavrilovich Shcherbakov (1902-1982).

Dates

Creation: 1957-2014

Creator

Verblovskaia, Irena (1932-) (Person)
Pimenov, Revolt Ivanovich (1931-1990) (Person)

Language of Materials

English

Language of Materials

Collection material in Russian

Conditions Governing Access

Access to the Verblovskaia-Pimenov correspondence (folders 10-36; 46-62) is by permission only through 2024. For access during this period contact the curator of the collection.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright status for collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Biographical / Historical

Irena Savelevna Verblovskaia (b.1932) is a historian, Soviet-era dissident, and writer. She grew up in Leningrad and studied Polish history at the Leningrad State University. Verblovskaia met her first husband Revolt Ivanovich Pimenov (1931-1990) in 1956. Pimenov was a brilliant mathematician, a leading intellectual and one of the founders of the dissident movement in the Soviet Union. In 1957 Pimenov was arrested together with four other members of "his group", including Verblovskaia, for "anti-Soviet" activities. Pimenov was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but was released on parole in 1963. Verblovskaia served 5 years (1957-1962). After returning to Leningrad in December 1963, she worked as a tourist guide. Verblovskaia wrote several books and articles about Leningrad's cultural and literary history, and a memoir about her life and experience in Khrushchev's Gulag. Pimenov was arrested again in 1970 for his dissident activities and served five years. In the late 1980s together with Andrei Sakharov he helped to initiate the first legal democratic opposition to Communist rule. Pimenov died in 1990 shortly after he was elected to the Congress of People's Deputies of the Russian Federation.

Extent

1 Cubic foot (2 containers. )

Additional Description

Abstract

Personal correspondence between Irena S. Verblovskaia and her first husband Revolt I. Pimenov, who was one of the founders of the dissident movement in the Soviet Union, written during their imprisonment for "anti-Soviet" activities (1958-1963).

Arrangement

The collection consists of three series. The first series contains documents and photographs of Verblovskaia, Pimenov, and other political prisoners before and after their incarceration. The second series is comrpised of original letters to I.S. Verblovskaia written by Revolt I. Pimenov, Ernst S. Orlovskii, Boris B. Vail, as well as Pimenov's father, Ivan G. Shcherbakov during their imprisonment. The third series for the most part includes letters from Irena S. Verblovskaia to Revolt I. Pimenov also written during their imprisonment.