“Description of Everyday Life” by Vladimir Dahl

The article examines the history of V. I. Dahl’s manuscript described by P. I. Melnikov-Pechersky in his memoirs. The manuscript contained adaptations of certain biblical texts into the vernacular. References to this manuscript are found in the correspondence between V. I. Dahl and M. P. Pogodin, as well as in the letters of P. G. Redkin to V. I. Dahl. The author’s intention in Dahl’s later literary works largely aligns with the idea of adapting the Bible to explain the essence of Christian truths in an accessible language, which underpin the style of Russian life and moral education, and which Dahl viewed as the future of Russia. The article analyzes the depictions of Russian life that Dahl authored after a ten-year hiatus in 1867–1868, as well as “Pictures of Russian Children’s Life,” written by Dahl in the last years of his life and published after his death. To support the theses set forth in the article, material from the “Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language”, V. I. Dahl’s journalism on educational issues, and texts from a number of his early artistic works is referenced.