V. S. Baevsky and M. L. Gasparov: to the history of scientific communication in prosody

Abstract

Based on the biographies of the prominent philologists V. S. Baevsky and M. L. Gasparov, this article examines the relationships of the Soviet scholars of humanities in the late XX century, and verifies the facts from the history of prosody. The archive of V. S. Baevsky with collection of 146 letters of M. L. Gasparov is deposited in Smolensk State University. It preserved handwritten and printed documents that tell about their shared scientific interests and sincere relationship. Gasparov’s dedicatory inscriptions on the books resembling the token reverence and friendship also serve as important and informative sources in studying this topic. The library of V. S. Baevsky accounts to 35 such books. There is also extensive memoir literature dedicated to V. S. Baevsky and M. L. Gasparov. The article analyzes peer reviews of V. S. Baevsky on the monographs of M. L. Gasparov, responses to the jubilees of the scholar, and obituary in his memory. The conclusion was made that mutual respectful dialogue established between V. S. Baevsky and M. L. Gasparov contributed to the synergy of efforts on the development of prosody as a research method, integration of university and academic science for the advancement of humanities in Russia. The study of various scientific contacts and relationships between the Soviet philologists allows having a new perspective upon the history of philology in Russia, examine the problem of opposition of Soviet science as a social institution, which was controlled by the government and its founding scholars, as well as clarify important facts in the establishment of prosody.