But in "The Life of Klim Samgin" (1925-36)
Gorky himself makes V. D. Nabokov a member of the "Fourth" (1912-17)
Duma:**
- Знал бы ты, какой он
дурак, этот Макаров, - точно оса, жужжала Елена в ухо ему. - А вон этот, который
наклонился к Набокову, Шура Протопопов, забавный человечек. Набоков очень
элегантный мужчина. А вообще какие все неуклюжие, серые... (Part
Four)
Actually, VDN was a member of the "First" (1906)
Duma. In 1907, as one of the authors of the Vyborg Appeal, VDN was
deprived of the right to vote and be elected. In 1915, when they attend a
session of Duma, Elena (a retired courtesan) simply could not point
out Nabokov ("a very elegant man," according to Elena) to
Samgin. "Такие вещи знать надо!" (One should know such things!) as Gorky
exclaimed indignantly pointing out a factual error in Nazhivin's novel. See also
my article "The Fair Invention*** in Nabokov's Ada and Gorky's The
Life of Klim Samgin" in The Nabokovian #58 (Spring, 2007).
Like Rasputin, VN's father was
assassinated.
Van Veen (Ada's protagonist) was born
on January 1, 1870. Lenin and VDN (whose birthday, July 21, Ada
shares) were born in 1870 (Lenin's birthday is April 22). Rasputin was
probably one year older.