New Perspectives on the Biography and Works of Vasily Grossman: Archival Discoveries of the 2020s

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

The panel is focused on the recent discovery of previously unknown archival materials related to Vasily Grossman. Until recently, scholars had access to a very limited number of Grossman’s personal correspondence, diaries, manuscripts and other archival documents. The scarcity of primary sources led to gaps in biographical research, forcing scholars to rely on memoirs, indirect accounts, and hypotheses rather than direct documentary evidence.
In the early 2020s, what appears to be a new phase in Grossman studies began: some scholars started closely examining documents stored in state archives, while others gained access to private archives and initiated intensive work on them.
The newly discovered materials, preserved in various archives — including RGALI, the archive of the Russian Ministry of Defense, private family collections, and the newly accessed archive of Ildar Galeev, — reveal critical aspects of Grossman’s personal and professional life. They allow us to reconstruct his relationships with key figures, trace his evolving literary and ideological outlook, and clarify biographical uncertainties that have persisted in previous studies.

Sub Unit

• Literature: 20th Century

Chair

• Maurizia Calusio, Catholic U of the Sacred Heart (Italy)

Papers

• Vasily Grossman’s Notebooks as a Source on the History of World War II -

• Grossman’s Correspondence: New Findings and New Perspectives - Anna Krasnikova, U degli Studi eCampus (Italy)

• The Grossman Study Centre and Its Digital Library - Giovanni Maddalena, U of Molise (Italy)

Discussant

• Ilya Kukulin, Stanford U