A book about Ivan the Cossack, who was not a Cossack. Book review: Balbachan, I.T. (2019) Wanderings of Ivan the Cossack. An autobiographical story. Translated from Ukrainian and literarily processed by V.F. Balbachan. Minsk: Kovcheg

The review analyzes the memoirs of Ivan Balbachan, processed and first published by Vladimir Balbachan, his grandson, in 2019. The author of the memoirs was one of the settlers who arrived in Kuban at the end of the 19th century in search of a better life; the story finishes in 1913. The reviewer raises the question of the extent to which the published text corresponds to the original manuscript, that is, to what extent the book can be considered a historical source, since later processing gave the memoirs excessive artistry, possibly implying elements of fiction. The geography of the events described in the book is characterized in detail, covering Kuban and Terek Oblasts, Kazakhstan and Primorye, as well as Saint Petersburg. The memoirist’s style is characterized; the features of his worldview are revealed; the positive nature of the moral attitudes of the author of the memoirs and his family members is noted. The book contains ethnographic material related to the customs of various peoples living in the North-Western Caucasus and Kazakhstan. The reviewer emphasizes the importance of Balbachan’s memories about military service in Saint Petersburg, which describe the difficulties that he faced at that time, the abuses that army officials committed in relation to the rank and file. The reviewer draws attention to Balbachan’s characteristics of individuals, mainly commanders he served under. The reviewer assesses the memoirist’s reflections on the turning points of the early 20th century in Russia and carries out a detailed critical analysis of the errors and inaccuracies the memoirist made. Among the shortcomings, errors in geographical names are especially numerous. In a number of cases, Balbachan used local rather than official names of settlements in the text, which is a valuable historical evidence. The reviewer points out the inaccuracy of the historical assessments of the publisher of the memoirs, his incomplete understanding of the social class differences between the Cossacks and the non- Cossacks population. The review corrects the errors and inaccuracies in geographical names, explains the meaning of some specific terms, and gives recommendations for creating appropriate scientific notes. The reviewer concludes that it is necessary to refer to the original text (that is, the version not affected by later processing) of Balbachan’s memoirs in case they are published as a historical source.