L.N. Budagova and “Šrámkova Sobotka”

Abstract

The study deals with the relationship between the leading representative of the Bohemian studies in Russia L.N. Budagova, D.Sc. (1932–2022) and the Czech town of Sobotka and to the local festival of language, speech and literature called Šrámek's Sobotka (Šrámkova Sobotka). Based on an analysis of available sources and literature, it follows the core of the relationship defined by the years 1975–2022. Budagova got to know about the annual festival during an excursion and then she was invited to appear. Be-tween the years 1977 and 2010, she prepared twelve lectures focused on the Czech and Russian literature, the Czech-Russian literary and cultural relations and Russian cultural realities. Her lectures and other texts about the festival are summarized in the book O literatuře and kultuře (Texty pro Šrámkovu Sobotku), published in 2012. Her next book written in Czech Z mého života s českou literaturou (Výbor z česky publikovaných prací) was published in 2021 thanks to a local initiative. It involves twenty works writ-ten between the years 1973 and 2020. Furthermore, the study deals with her articles published in the journal Zpravodaj Šrámkovy Sobotky and it analyses short articles, which were published about her there, as well. She received the Sobotka Town Award in 2012 (for a promotion of the town and the Czech culture). There is an entry regarding Budagova in the local lexicon Kdo je kdo v dějinách Sobotecka a Dolnobousovska (published in 2015). Moreover, the study includes basic information about the town and the festival for the better context and it incorporates memories of the author, as well.