In Search of Gala Dali’s City of Birth

Abstract

The aim of the study was to find the birthplace of Elena Ivanovna (Dmitrievna) Dyakonova, known to the whole world under the name of Gala Dali. Documented sources about the woman’s city of birth have not been found so far, which led to the emergence of conflicting information. To achieve this goal, the author is looking for indirect documents confirming that Gala Dali was born in Kazan. For the first time, the problem is investigated based on archival data of her parents ‒ father Dmitry Ilyich Gomberg, who studied at the Imperial Kazan University from 1892 to 1895, and mother Antonina Petrovna Dyakonova. Analysis of documents found in the State Archives of the Republic of Tatarstan, articles by D. V. Malinovsky, grandson of the adopted son of D. I. Gomberg, memoirs and historical data helped to clarify the situation about the place of birth of the muse Dali and the plight of her family. The key research method is source study analysis of office documents, their comparison with historical data about everyday life and facts from the biography of Gala Dali. As a result of the research search, the place of birth of Elena Ivanovna/Dmitrievna Dyakonova was determined ‒ the city of Kazan, as evidenced by direct and indirect facts from the biographies of the parents and Gala herself, as well as the difficult life situation of the woman’s parents, their connection with revolutionary activities and mentioning in police circulars. This explains the reason why the woman did not like to remember the story of her birth and created numerous myths about the city of birth, family and living conditions. The data obtained can be used for further reconstruction of the history of the Gala family and her biography. Keywords: myth, Gala Dali, Kazan, city of birth, revolutionary activity, clerical documents of the fund of the office of the Imperial Kazan University of the State Archives of the Republic of Tatarstan, fear