“CONFESSION” BY P. A. VYAZEMSKY IN THE LITERARY ALMANAC OF THE QUEEN OF THE HELLENES OLGA (COPY OF A. I. KHOMUTOV)

Abstract

The article describes a little-known archival source – the album of the Vice-Admiral of the Russian Imperial Navy A. I. Khomutov. It was presented to the owner by the Queen of the Hellenes Olga (Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna). The article traces the history of the album, suggests its dating, analyzes the notes made by the hand of the Grand Duchess, and describes the unique genre structure of the album-almanac. Special attention is paid to the circumstances of the appearance in A. I. Khomutov’s copy of lines from the poem by Prince P. A. Vyazemsky “Confession” in 1867, written by the hand of the Queen. The autographs included in the almanac were not previously an object of study, neither was the almanac itself, which is little known to researchers. The intersection of names, dates, poetic images and events allows us to consider the almanac not only as a rare factual source, but also as an artifact of multi-level interpretation. The article reveals the symbolism of the biographical notes, the confessional lines of Prince Vyazemsky (“There are days when the noises of life are silent around...”, 1867), the mystical circumstances of the appearance of his “Confession”.