Review of Kholikov, A. and Kling, O., eds. (2017). Russian literary historians of the 20th century: A biobibliographical dictionary. Vol. I: A-L. Moscow, St. Petersburg: Nestor-Istoriya. 532 pages.

Abstract

The review discusses the first volume of the biobibliographical dictionary Russian Literary Historians of the 20th Century, published by Nestor-Istoriya in 2017. Working at the Department of Literary Theory atLomonosovMoscowStateUniversity, the authors, Doctors of Philology O. Kling and A. Kholikov invited several specialists to participate in their project. The article is a critical analysis of the publication, identifying its typical characteristics, advantages and disadvantages. The review summarizes the history of the project, highlights its conceptual emphases based on the foreword to the first volume, in particular, with regard to selection criteria for the subjects (scholars), and examines the structure of a typical dictionary entry. In conclusion, the reviewer describes the dictionary’s significance for contemporary literary studies, and its contribution to solving such problems as the creation of a biographical entry about a writer, removal of bias in perception of the writer’s personality, inclusion of the historical context and then-relevant scientific paradigms to help with a more nuanced perception of the scholar.