Georgij Efron. Vol. 1 (1940-41) Annotated Edition

Georgij Sergeevic Efron (19251944) was the son of the poet Marina Cvetaeva (18921941), and grandson of the art historian who was the founder of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow. His Diaries, written between Apil 1940 and August 1943, were only released in Russia in 2004, the publication caused a sensation. The literary and artistic heritage of Marina Cvetaeva is considered among some of the greatest in twentieth century Russian literature and she belongs to the most outstanding female poets worldwide. Georgij grew up in France to where his parents had emigrated. His father, Sergej Jakovlevic Efron (18931941) was suspected by the French police of being involved in the assassination of a former high-ranking Soviet agent and defector near Lausanne in Switzerland in September 1937 and had to leave France immediately for the Soviet Union, to where his daughter Alja had moved earlier. Marina Cvetaeva and her son left for the Soviet Union in spring 1939. In summer 1939 her daughter got arrested, one month later her husband. The Diaries start with an entry on April 4, 1940. Mother and son now live in a dacha near Moscow. The meager income they live on derived from translation work of Marina Cvetaeva. Her main concern was accommodation. Murr, so the nickname of Georgij Efron, shared with his mother a room in differing apartments which meant changing school several times. Apart from providing an insight into the school system in the Soviet Union the Diaries procure an intimate testimony of the personality of Marina Cvetaeva and of the milieu in which she moved. The entries testify of his worries concerning the family members in prison. No information about the legal matter is available. Without sentence, Alja is deported to Siberia. The father will be sentences to death, but the Diaries keep silence about this crime of the Stalinist courts. Young Efron is a keen, independent minded youngster; his thirst for culture, esp. French literature is inexhaustible, his interest in music - jazz and classics as well, is remarkable. His knowledge and interest in international affairs, meaning the German war against Europe, is outstanding. On June 23, 1941, his entry refers to the speech of peoples commissar Molotov on the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. Given the chaos around Marina Cvetaeva decided to join a transport of evacuees organized by the Union of Soviet Writers leading to a place in the Tartar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. It was expected that the evacuees earn their living. For Marina Cvetaeva it was unthinkable to find work in a remote place like Elabuga, on Aug. 31, 1941, she committed suicide.