M. Gorky as an Editor of Manuscripts of the Unpublished Book History of the Gorky Region (Based on Archival Materials)

Based on archival sources, the article attempts to reconstruct M. Gorky’s unfulfilled plan of the 1930s, i. e., the creation of a historical and local history work about the past and present of Nizhny Novgorod (Gorky). The author shows the origin of the idea of the book The History of the Gorky Region, and the beginning of the work of the team of authors on its implementation. The article establishes that Gorky was very passionate about this project and made great efforts to implement it. The writer wanted the creation of the work History of the Gorky Region to become a model for the large book series History of Cities as the History of Russian Life conceived by him, and a vivid example of a new collective method of creative work of Soviet writers. The study revealed the reasons that prevented the implementation of this project. At the same time, the main attention in the article is focused on the study of the work of Gorky, the editor, on the manuscripts of writers, stored in his Moscow archive, intended for this work. Gorky’s editorial experience, recorded in his edits, brief written reviews, comments and advices to authors in the margins of their manuscripts, clearly demonstrates the specifics of his work as an editor, and often helps to better understand the writer’s intention, and the goal he pursued in the process of editing. The research also helps us to comprehend the socio-political and aesthetic idea that he was guided by.