Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov

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V. D. Nabokov in his World War I officer's uniform, 1914

Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov (Russian: Влади́мир Дми́триевич Набо́ков; 21 July [O.S. 8 July] 1870 – 28 March 1922) was a Russian criminologist, journalist, and progressive statesman during the last years of the Russian Empire. He was the father of Russian-American author Vladimir Nabokov.

Early life

Nabokov was born in

Baltic German family in Courland
.

He studied criminal law at the

University of St. Petersburg and taught criminology at the Imperial School of Jurisprudence
.

Nabokov married Elena Ivanovna Rukavishnikova in 1897 with whom he had five children. Their eldest son was the writer and

lepidopterist Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov, who portrayed his father in his memoirs (Speak, Memory, 1967) and included in his novel Pale Fire a scene of misdirected assassination evoking the death of his father. Other children were Sergey (1900–1945), Kirill (1911–1964), Elena (1906–2000) and Olga (1903–1978), who was a childhood friend of Russian-American novelist Ayn Rand.[1] His son Sergei was gay and was sent to Neuengamme labour camp, where he died on the 9 January 1945 due to a combination of dysentery, starvation and exhaustion.[2]

Career

From 1904 until 1917 he was the editor of the liberal newspaper Rech ("The Speech").

A prominent member of the

death penalty.[4] He was identified with the party's "center" and in favor of working with left-wing parties during the First State Duma and again during Russia's second revolutionary period.[5]

In 1917, after the

Provisional Government; however, he was forced to leave St. Petersburg in December 1917 after the Provisional Government was overthrown by the Bolshevik revolution. In 1918 he served as minister of justice in the Crimean Regional Government, where he and his family had taken refuge. In 1919 the Nabokovs fled to England and later settled in Berlin
.

From 1920 until his death, Nabokov was the editor of the Russian émigré newspaper Rul ("The Rudder"), which continued to advocate a pro-Western democratic government in Russia.

Death

Further information: Attempted assassination of Pavel Milyukov

Nabokov attended a CD political conference in Berlin on 28 March 1922. During the proceedings, Pyotr Shabelsky-Bork and Sergey Taboritsky approached the stage singing the Tsarist national anthem and then opened fire on liberal politician and publisher Pavel Milyukov. In response, Nabokov jumped off the stage and wrestled Shabelsky-Bork down to the floor. Taboritsky then shot Nabokov three times at point-blank range, killing him instantly. The assailants failed even to wound their intended target Milyukov.

The assassins were subsequently convicted of the murder and sentenced to a 14-year prison term, but served only a fraction. The German judicial system was far more lenient with right-wing criminals than with their leftist counterparts. Upon his release, Shabelsky-Bork befriended

Nazi
ideologue.

Nabokov is buried at the Berlin-Tegel Russian Orthodox Cemetery.

Personal life

Nabokov was an active member of the irregular

Grand Orient of Russia’s Peoples.[6]

Sources

References

  1. ^ Heller, Anne C., Ayn Rand and the World She Made, 2009, Nan A. Talese, p. 26–27.
  2. ^ Grossman, Lev (17 May 2000). "The gay Nabokov". Salon. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  3. ISBN 0-7011-3700-2
    .
  4. ISBN 0-7011-3700-2
    .
  5. ^ Dragunoiu, Dana (2011). Vladimir Nabokov and the Poetics of Liberalism. Northwestern University Press. p. 19.
  6. ^ "Noteworthy members of the Grand Orient of France in Russia and the Supreme Council of the Grand Orient of Russia's People". Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon. 15 October 2017.

External links

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