“The Deathbed” Letters to Dostoevsky, or Why the Nechaevist Enisherlov Suggested Killing Nechaev

The article sets out the vital and promising task of creating a directory of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s correspondents that would include their scientific biographies. The author of “A Writer’s Diary” was not acquainted with most of the people who wrote to him in the 1870s. However, by reconstructing their biographies based on archival documents, it is possible to gain insight into the vibrant historical context in which Dostoevsky lived and worked. One of the writer’s correspondents who has been overlooked by researchers is Georgy Petrovich Enisherlov. In June 1876, he wrote two letters to Dostoevsky, enclosing his poems and requesting their fastest possible evaluation. The correspondent explained his haste and persistence by stating that he was seriously ill and expected to die soon. Based on documentary and reference sources, it was revealed that Georgy Enisherlov’s biography was typical for university students in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In his youth, he was eager to engage in active public work and became interested in revolutionary ideas, becoming a close associate of the leader of “Narodnaya Rasprava” Sergey Nechaev and was a co-author of the organization’s charter, “Katekhizis revolutsionera” (“Catechism of a Revolutionary).” However, Enisherlov’s close relationship with Nechaev later transformed into his hatred of the latter and the desire to kill him. In his autobiography, “My Confession,” the former member of the Nechaev Circle revealed the reasons behind this: Nechaev had sole authorship of the “Narodnaya rasprava” (“People’s Execution”) charter and had distorted Enisherlov’s proposed “Jesuit Path” of revolution. He also accused Nechaev of arresting his beloved, E. Ch. Tomilova. Enisherlov’s love poem, which he sent to Dostoevsky among other poetic texts, is dedicated to her. The rest of the poems are nature lyrics, reflections on God and the immortality of the soul. After enduring hardships in prisons and exile, the former member of the Nechaev Circle renounced his rebellious ideas and embarked on the path of “My Confession,” a journey of self-discovery and spiritual enlightenment. However, his “deathbed” letters to Dostoevsky, written in 1876, did not live up to their name. Enisherlov suffered from a hypochondriacal mental disorder and spent years living in anticipation of death. This is evidenced by the history of his transfer of his archive to the Rumyantsev Museum (now the Department of Manuscripts at the Russian State Library), which lasted from 1895 to 1913. It is difficult to determine whether Dostoevsky responded to the “dying” man’s letters, as Enisherlov did not mention this in his memoirs.