The Letters of M. M. Kovalevsky: Little-Known Details of the Scholar’s Biography

Abstract

The article analyzes a broad selection of letters by M. M. Kovalevsky that reveal interesting and little-known details of the scholar’s public activities and private life. In his correspondence, Kovalevsky shared his life and academic plans and reflected on various historical, legal, political, sociological, and economic issues. Kovalevsky wrote letters to other academics, writers, and public figures for various reasons: asking for help on behalf of others, soliciting contributions for journals, encyclopedias, or the newspaper (Strana) that he edited, sending new books and magazines, sharing information about new publications, extending invitations to participate in collective projects, informing his correspondents about political events in Russia, France, the USA, or any other country that served as his permanent or temporary home at the time, and more. The correspondence of this internationally renowned scholar — already widely recognized during his lifetime — served not only as a means of communication. It also provides valuable insights into his private life and his active, multifaceted activities in various countries around the world. In his letters, M. M. Kovalevsky reflects on his personal life journey, evaluates the words and actions of his friends, relatives, and acquaintances, and offers critical observations on the domestic and foreign policies of the Russian Empire and other states. This body of epistolary sources sheds ample light on the role of Kovalevsky as a prominent scholar and public figure in the social, political, and academic life of the Russian Empire and other countries. The article also provides an overview of the external characteristics of Kovalevsky’s correspondence, highlights the distinctive qualities of the scholar’s epistolary style, and notes the high literary merit of his letters. An overview of the existing editions of Kovalevsky’s epistolary legacy is also given. Fragments of several letters preserved in the archives of Ukraine, Russia, and France appear in print for the first time. The author argues that we could benefit from new publications of Kovalevsky’s most valuable letters.