The “Russian theme” in the interviews of Vladimir Nabokov

This paper examines the interviews of Vladimir Nabokov from the 1950s through the 1970s, specifically investigating public declarations that elucidate his self-identification as a “Russian writer.” The study explores his relationship with his national and cultural genesis, as well as his perception of Russia. The research is based on the interviews collected in the volume “Nabokov o Nabokove i prochem: interv’yu, retsenzii, esse” (“Nabokov on Nabokov and other things: interviews, reviews, essays”), compiled by N. Melnikov. The study concludes that when addressing his status as “still” or “also” a Russian writer, Nabokov structured his statements to avoid both definitive agreement and categorical denial. To craft his literary persona, he occasionally, and indirectly, linked himself to the Russian tradition through specific figures such as Nikolai Gogol. Nabokov’s stance toward contemporary Soviet Russia was characterized by a deep-seated refusal to engage with Soviet reality, which he contrasted with an idealized, mnemonic image of the Russia of his childhood. Despite his conviction that a physical return to his homeland was impossible, Nabokov maintained a belief in an eventual, albeit significantly delayed, recognition by the Russian readership he had lost.

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