Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Nikolaĭ D. Zarin papers
- Dates:
- 1900-1953
- Creators:
- Zarin, NikolaĬ D., -1918
- Abstract:
- Diaries, certificates, photographs, and memorabilia, relating to Russian military operations during World War I. Includes English translation of diaries.
- Extent:
- 2 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize box (1.5 Linear Feet)
- Language:
- Russian
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Nikolaĭ D. Zarin papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The papers consist of nine volumes of a handwritten diary of Zarin's experiences in the First World War, two drafts of the diary typed in English, twenty photographic prints (mainly of Zarin and his wife), four negatives, a military order dated 30 December 1916, an educational honors certificate (pokhvalnyi list) issued to Evgeniia Zubatova (Zarin) on 8 June 1902, and a military cap.
The diary begins with the first day of mobilization and describes preparations for entrainment for the front. Zarin describes the first battles in East Prussia, examining reasons for the defeats based on his own experience (Zarin's regiment was part of Gen. P. K. Rennenkampf's 1st Army). The first part of the diary concludes in January 1915, when the army corps was transferred to the southwestern front (Galicia and the Carpathians). The retreat of 1915 is described in great detail, as are the following triumphs of 1916. Much of the rest of the diary describes the situation in Petrograd and at his estate in Klemshino (southwest of Petrograd) in 1917. The final entry, dated 25 January 1918, describes how the author and his family abandoned their estate, feeling evermore threatened by the excesses of the surrounding peasants.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Major general, Russian imperial army; commanding general, 47th Division.
Zarin began the First World War as commander of the 10th Ostrovsky Regiment, based in Vitebsk. Zarin did not see the worst of the dissolution of the Russian Army in 1917 because the effects of an earlier contusion had forced him to seek medical treatment. In March of that year, after two months in command of the 47th Infantry Division, he left the army. During the Russian civil war, Zarin joined the White (anti-Bolshevik) movement in Siberia. He was caught by the Bolsheviks and murdered in June 1918. His widow, Eugenie, immigrated to the United States, settling in San Francisco, where she died in February 1979.
- Acquisition information:
- Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 2011.
- Physical location:
- Hoover Institution Library & Archives
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2022-11-02 10:27:04.964144
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Box 3 and OCM7 may not be used without permission of the Archivist. The remainder of the collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
- Terms of access:
-
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Nikolaĭ D. Zarin papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
- Location of this collection:
-
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford UniversityStanford, CA 94305-6003, US
- Contact:
- (650) 723-3563