The Memoirs of Erast Nudatov as a Source of Shevchenko’s Biography of Raim Period (1848—1849)

The paper aims to evaluate the reliability of Erast Nudatov’s memoirs who was an ensign of the fourth linear battalion of the Separate Orenburg Corps at the time of his acquaintance with Shevchenko. The memoirs were recorded by the Russian journalist and writer Dmitry Klemensov, whose real surname was Montvid. Due to the lack of other sources for reconstructing the conditions of the Aral Sea Expedition’s stay in Raim in 1848—1849, D. Klemensov’s publication repeatedly attracted close attention from researchers. However, many of them have been overly credulous toward the information it contains. Some of Klemensov’s assumptions had no factual basis and led to the spread of several legends in Shevchenko studies, primarily concerning references to Shevchenko’s artistic works (now unknown). Shevchenko did not draw any political caricatures, let alone “obscene pictures.” It seems that due to the limited memories of E. Nudatov, D. Klemensov had to largely speculate on a number of episodes, depicting Shevchenko as involved in various incidents occuring in the Raim fortress or those heard by the ensign during his service. The information provided by E. Nudatov has been cross-checked with documents, reliable memoirs, etc. The journalist’s treatment of his story turned out to be too fictionalized, not least because of the publisher’s financial interest. It is indicative that the editorial board of the “Kiievskaia Starina” journal, known for its commitment to preserving the poet’s memory, did not publish the proposed material. Perhaps this was due to doubts about its authenticity or disagreement about the terms of publication. In conclusion, it is advisable to only use an information from D. Klemensov’s material, confirmed by other sources. The rest of the stories, in particular those about Shevchenko’s antics, which are definitely too many for the three months of the exile’s and the ensign’s joint stay in Raim, should be used with great caution, bearing in mind the low reliability of these memoirs.