Letters to the Editor

To the Editors:

I have long enjoyed “Calendar,” in which you mention famous (and sometimes infamous!) Russians. Thus, I wonder why you have never mentioned Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn, who will be 85 years old this 11th December. Does your editorial staff consider him to be an “unperson,” like Andrei Sakharov?

J.J. Granger

Washington, DC

Mr. Granger:

Nothing could be further from the truth. We feel that Solzhenitsyn was one of the greatest writers and activists of the 20th century. We actually ran two full-length articles on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the publication of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, in our November 1997 issue.

By the way, please note some of the changes we are making to our Calendar section, starting with this issue. As always, we value reader input!

— The Editors

To the Editors:

Thank you for your interesting article about Pskov (and Pskovians), printed in the July/Aug issue of Russian Life.

However there is an unfortunate error.

Princess Olga was the wife of Prince Igor, the mother of Prince Svyatoslav, and the grandmother (not mother) of Prince Vladimir.

Inna Kaliakin

Sacramento, CA

To the Editors:

In the Post Script of the Sept/Oct issue, “Where the Russians Are,” there is the following statement: “North Dakota is not normally the place one thinks of as having a large Russian émigré population ... but has the highest percentage in the nation.”

The “Russians” in North Dakota are actually Germans from Russia and speak a German dialect, not the Russian language. They immigrated from German to South Russia (which is now Ukraine) and then to America. They consider themselves Germans, Germans from Russia. ...

Elaine Helbling Hundley

Rochester, IL

Ms. Hundley:

Right you are. In addition to the Ukrainian Germans which you mention, there were Volga Germans in what is now Saratov region, and Bessarabian Germans (in Moldova).

— The Editors