Galicia and Moldavia Travel Letters [Kelsiev]

Product Description

Galicia (Galichina) and Moldavia (Moldova). Travel Letters. (Галичина и Молдавия. Путевые письма.) Vasily Ivanovich Kelsiev. (Василий Иванович Кельсиев.) IN RUSSIAN. Originally published in St. Petersburg in 1868 by V.I. Golovin. Reprinted by The Carpatho-Russian Literary Association (CT: Bridgeport) in 1976. Preface by the reprint publisher. Blue hardcover binding, 362 pages. Some wear to titles, book slightly cocked, but very good with no marks or writing. 1 copy only.

Vasily Ivanovich Kelsiev (1835-1872) was, during his short life, a journalist, historian, and political activist. He was a close associate of Alexander Herzen in the early 1860's. Born into a noble family, he traced his lineage to Mordovian princes, title to which was lost over time. His grandfather was a priest and his father was a customs warehouse official. Orphaned at a young age, he studied at the St. Petersburg Commercial School at the expense of the Russian-American Company. Among his many accomplishments was the publication of this book of sketches in 1868 about his travels in 1866-1867 in Western Russia in which he collected material about the lifestyles of the former Russian lands. With his gift for mastering languages, he communicated well with various types of peoples. He was interested not only in everyday life, but also in the relationship of nationalities (i.e, Jews and Slavs), as well as differences in languages ​​and religions. The material collected by Kelsiev is of great ethnographic value.