Max Hayward, translator of Pasternak and Solzhenitsyn, was described on his death by his collaborator Patricia Blake, as having ‘acted as custodian of Russian literature in the West, until such a time as it can be restored to Russia’. That time arrived far sooner than either of them could have dared to hope in the form of The Prince George Galitzine Memorial Library which opened in St Petersburg in October 1994.
The Galitzine Library is home to several thousand volumes of
tamizdat writing and historical biographies never previously seen in
Russia before. Through hosting talks, lectures, readings and seminars, mainly on the theme of ‘Russia abroad’, the Library has established itself as an important cultural centre in the city of St Petersburg.
Prince George Galitzine, an expert on Russian history and art, led
cultural tours to Russia throughout the Soviet years. After his death in 1992, he was remembered at a conference at the Smithsonian Institute by James Billington, the Librarian of Congress, with these words: ‘We all owe a debt to George Galitzine, for keeping the cultural doors open to Russia – he paved the way for us.’ His widow, Jean, and daughter, Katya, created the memorial library as a fitting tribute to a man whose love of Russia was passed on to his family.
The Library is housed at 46 Fontanka, a beautiful mansion that
formerly belonged to the family of Prince George’s mother. It has a
recently renovated reading room with an up-to-date reference section, and the use of the former ballroom as a ‘lecture hall’. One grateful reader wrote a thank you to the library, saying it had ‘books one never knew existed, and others one had heard of and never hoped to hold in one’s hands.’
Guest speakers at The Galitzine Library have included Orlando
Figes, Suzanne Massey, Professor Efim Etkind, as well as local authors and historians. Over the years, universities throughout the British Isles have donated books, as have many collectors and authors, such as Professor Anthony Cross, Isaiah Berlin, Asa Briggs, Kyril (Fitzlyon) Zinovieff, Colin Thubron, Robert Massie, the Bodleian Library, the School of Slavonic Studies and Trinity College, Dublin.
Funded entirely by The Galitzine-St Petersburg Trust, a London
based charity (No. 1015036), our aim is to inform, instruct and inspire. We continually need help in raising money and new interest in this project. Our annual outgoings are minimal, but in order to continue funding our running costs, events, and the purchase of books, many of which are rare and valuable, we do need donations however small.
♦ ♦ ♦
“Every blade of grass makes a meadow”
The Galitzine Library is open to everyone, if you are in St Petersburg
please pay us a visit!
The Prince George Galitzine Memorial Library
46, Fontanka Embankment
St Petersburg 191025
Russia
Tel/Fax: +7 812 311 1333
[email protected]
Should you wish to help The Prince George Galitzine Memorial Library, please make your donation payable to:
The Galitzine-St Petersburg Trust
c/o Wedlake Bell, 16 Bedford Street, London WC2E 9HF
Registered with the Charities Commission No. 1015036
Page(s) 300-2301
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