#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. The family reading library on Kotulsky drive, 15, received an unexpected and truly unique gift just before Book Giving Day. Before leaving for the mainland, a family donated two volumes in Old Slavic to the library.
While these volumes are not in exhibiting condition – they lack covers – an examination will be required to fully understand their contents. Overall, the pages are in fairly good shape; the letters are clear, the ink has not faded, and the paper appears relatively fresh, without any irreversible yellowing. The main challenge in determining the content lies in the Church Slavonic language used in Christian liturgy and writing, which developed from Old Slavic, the language of the books.
The theological content of the volumes is somewhat supported by excerpts found between the pages – presumably from letters written by an unknown owner of the books. Among descriptions of everyday matters, there are mentions of religious topics written in more contemporary language. It seems likely that the author shared their thoughts on what they had read in these letters.
Among the pages, an envelope was discovered with a specific address and the name of the sender, who, according to the envelope, lived in Norilsk, in apartment No. 68 on Leninsky prospect 24. This might be the owner of the books: Nina Konstantinovna Turkova. An undelivered letter was addressed to Anisya Yakovlevna Plotnikova in the village of Menshikovo in the Kurgan region. A calendar sheet found as a bookmark indicates that these books were used as recently as July 4, 1964 – not too long ago.
While donating the volumes to the library, the owners shared that they had struggled for a long time to decide what to do with such a significant legacy. Experts they consulted online were unable to provide any definitive guidance and showed little interest. When it came time to leave Norilsk, they simply couldn’t bring themselves to throw the volumes away.
Thus, these ancient editions have found a new home in the library and will soon be sent for examination in the rare books department of the centralized library system of Norilsk.
Follow us on Telegram, VKontakte.
Text: Denis Kozhevnikov, Photo: Denis Kozhevnikov
