The fate of M. M. Bakhtin’s relatives in besieged Leningrad

Introduction. The relevance of the study is connected: firstly, with the need to create an objective and reliable scientific biography of M. M. Bakhtin, which implies the inclusion of data on his relatives; secondly, with the importance of creating the most complete picture of the siege of Leningrad – one of the most tragic episodes of the Great Patriotic War. The purpose of the article is to present new data on the fate of the thinker’s close relatives (mother, sisters and nephew) in besieged Leningrad. Materials and Methods. The article is based on unpublished archival sources: letters and a telegram from the youngest of M. M. Bakhtin’s sisters Natalia from Leningrad to her husband N. P. Perfil’ev who remained in Moscow (June 1941 – January 1942), notes of conversations with N. P. Perfil’ev made by the custodian of M. M. Bakhtin’s legacy L. S. Melikhova in the first half of the 1990s. Published documents, materials, and studies related to the biography of M. M. Bakhtin, the history of the Great Patriotic War, and the siege of Leningrad are also used. Research methodology: principle of combining macro- and micro-level approaches; methods: comparative, historical and logical reconstruction. Results. The story of N. P. Perfil’ev, the surviving letters and telegram of N. M. Perfil’eva to him provide answers to many questions that were asked by researchers of the biography of M. M. Bakhtin, and allow us to trace the life of his relatives in Leningrad from June 17, 1941 to March 31, 1942, to clarify the circumstances of the death of his mother and sisters, as well as the rescue of his nephew (who was evacuated by his closest relatives on his father’s side). The letters of N. M. Perfil’eva testify that, even in the terrible conditions of the blockade, she, her mother and sisters continued to worry about their relatives (cousin E. T. Sitnikova and her mother, M. M. Bakhtin and his wife) and about their friends and acquaintances who lived in Moscow (B. V. Zalessky, M. K. Yushkova and others) until the last days of their lives. The memoirs of N. P. Perfil’ev also contain information about his meetings with M. M. Bakhtin after the war: in 1945, 1970 and in the first half of the 1970s. Discussion and Conclusion. Previously unknown archival materials introduced into scientific circulation significantly expand the source base of Bakhtin studies, fill gaps in the biography of M. M. Bakhtin’s relatives, and also contribute to the Leningrad blockade collective chronicle, creating the prerequisites for further research and generalizations.