“This is a Russian hive rich in honeycombs and lively words”. Creative personality of Mikhail Prishvin in the correspondence of V.D. Prishvina with V.N. Bunina and L.F. Zurov

The work is an overview of the correspondence (1959-1965) between V.D. Prishvina and representatives of the Russian literary emigration V.N. Bunina and L.F. Zurov. These letters discovered in different archives have not been published to the present time. The letters present the opinions of the correspondents concerning the work and personality of Mikhail Prishvin and also give assessments of his works. The analysis of the letters makes it possible to know that at the turn of the 1960s Bunina and Prishvina had friendly relations. They both exchanged books which were published at that time (“Kashcheev Chain”, “The Tale of Our Time”, “Golden Meadow”, “Forget-me-not Flowers” by M. Prishvin, “The Life of Arsenyev” by I. Bunin). At the same time these letters are of interest to characterize the participants in the correspondence themselves - prominent figures in the literary process of the mid-twentieth century. In a number of letters, V. Prishvina talks about her work on the compilation and commentary of her husband's publications; her literary talent is highly appreciated by Vera Bunina. The enthusiastic responses of L. Zurov, who called Prishvin “a great lover of truth”, impress V. Prishvina, who, in turn, defines her husband's gift as “visionary”. In letters to Zurov she draws attention to those lines of Prishvin where he speaks of his exceptional mission as “keeper of fire”. The letters reflected the caring of V. Prishvina on the literary critic N.S. Rodionov who helped her in analyzing the archives. In the context of correspondence is also considered an exchange of views Vera Bunina and writer N.P Smirnov, which touches upon the figures of I.A. Bunin, M.M. and V.D. Prishvin. The publication contains many quotes and the most indicative letters are given in their entirety and are first introduced into a scientific usage. On the whole, the history of epistolary communication between three notable figures of Russian literary life complements the overall picture of the interrelations between the abroad and the metropolis in the early 1960s.