This post is dedicated to the memory of Sergei Germanovich Pushkarev, a dear family friend, born on August 8th, 1888 in Imperial Russia. He reposed in 1984, soon after he wrote me the letter, partially illustrated below the introductory text.
To some he was a dedicated student of history; to others he was a fascist anti-soviet leader. Like some intellectual students, during events following WWI, he was caught up in the idealistic fervor of the Revolution. However, his keen and observant mind soon saw the tragic consequences for Russia in the cathartic events of the early 20th century. He quickly changed into an activist against the revolution. Like millions, he fled his native land becoming an emigre, who ended up in the US, like my family. To the Soviets for many years he was "Белобандит"/a White Army Bandit", a member of anti-soviet fascist organizations, antagonists to the Soviet people. By 1999, sympathies had shifted. By that year his memoir and many of his early work were being sought out by an eager audience in Russia.
To me and for young people going to summer camps with St. George's Pathfinders in Upstate New York in the 1950s and 60's he was an honored and fascinating presence. His mild, self-deprecating humor was infectious. He spoke of himself as "старый дедушка летописец/an old grandfather chronicler" . We understood he was a living witness to history having been physically present at major events of 1917!
In the 1950s and 60s, he would treat us with a visit to camp or speak at a gathering in one or another event in New York City, thanks to his son, Boris Pushkarev, an active scout leader, also an active member of NTS ,an anti-communist organization active world-wide after WWII. Boris Pushkarev was an urban planner by profession, who eventually moved to Russia. I have not heard from him for years. He was a good friend of my first husband, Alexei Vergun, and best man at our wedding in 1961. Boris was a loving son, who did everything he could to support and help his father. In those years in the US from 1950 to approximately 1970s, Sergei G.P. taught at Yale, did his meticulous historical research and published steadily. His brief bibliography (see images attached) only hint at how very productive he was as a historian/researcher and writer!
His papers, in fact, are available in Archives at Yale University, as follows:https://archives.yale.edu/repositories/12/resources/3891.
Over the following years I would meet Sergei P. at gatherings of the NTS. My dad was a member, as many Russian emigres were members. Over the years he became a dear and respected personal friend....
In 1983 we corresponded. I sent Sergei G. a Russian Easter bread, called Kulich, and so he wrote the touching letter (sample below.) He thanks me profusely, complains his hands are shaking from Parkinson's, and that he is partially blind due to glaucoma. forcing his son, Boris, to do more chores for him. A year later, in 1984 he reposed. I shall always remember him as a brilliant scholar, who was a witness to historic events in Russia; he was a disciplined researcher and writer of history , a complete gentleman with an engaging sense of humor, signing many letters "Дедушка Летописец/ Grandfather Chronicler."
In 1971 I visited Sergei Germanovich in New Haven, Connecticut where he lived, close to Yale University where he taught. During that visit I drew his portrait in charcoal (left). His son,Boris, kindly published it in a Memoir of his dad "Воспоминания Историка (1905 - 1945) /Memoir of a Historian" Moscow "Posev" 1999; cover is below.
Incidentally at the time I drew S.G.Pushkarev's portrait, I still carried my first married name, Vergun, from my marriage to Alexei Vergun (1937 -2014). My last name changed in 1973 to Borowski when I met and married my husband Vladimir Borowski (1933-2014).
Also, not having heard from or knowing the fate of Boris Pushkarev, I must assume he has reposed. Memory eternal to father and son: Sergei Germanovich Pushkarev (1888-1984), and his son, Boris Sergeevich Pushkarev (1935? - ?)
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