Alexander Yvanoff (Aleksandr Efimovich Ivanov) papers, 1957-1976

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Summary

Creators:
Yvanoff, Alexander, 1896-1973
Abstract:
Memoirs, correspondence, and photographs, relating to the Russian Civil War, Russian émigré life in the Philippines, and guerrilla activities in the Philippines during World War II.
Extent:
1 microfilm reel (0.15 Linear Feet)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Alexander Yvanoff Papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

The piece de resistance of this collection is Yvanoff's memoir, "Kazan' to Zamboanga," detailing his family history, participation in the Russian Civil War in Siberia and the Far East, evacuation to the Philippines and life there, including participation in anti-Japanese guerrilla warfare during World War II.

Detailed processing and preservation microfilming for these materials were made possible by a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and by matching funds from the Hoover Institution and the Museum of Russian Culture. The grant also provides depositing a microfilm copy in the Hoover Institution Library & Archives. The original materials remain in the Museum of Russian Culture, San Francisco, as its property. A transfer table indicating corresponding box and reel numbers is available at the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

The Hoover Institution assumes all responsibility for notifying users that they must comply with the copyright law of the United States (Title 17 United States Code) and Hoover Rules for the Use and Reproduction of Archival Materials.

Biographical / historical:
Date Event
1896 January 20
Born, Kazan', Russia
1917
Ensign (Praporshchik), Russian Army
1922
Left Vladivostok for the Philippines
1930 October 6
Married Petronila Brown
1941-1945
Fought the Japanese in the Philippines in a guerrilla unit
1973 January 25
Died, Zamboanga, Philippines

Yvanoff was born in Kazan' on 20 January 1896. As an ensign (praporshchik) in the Russian army in 1917, he witnessed the collapse of the front, and returned to Kazan', where he joined the anti-Bolshevik army in 1918. He remained with the Whites till his evacuation from Vladivostok with Admiral Iu. K. Stark's flotilla in October 1922.

A fluke of fate left him stranded in the Philippines (instead of continuing on to the United States as had been his intention), and there he remained, working as a logger, surveyor, and miner.

During the Second World War, he fought with guerrilla forces against the Japanese, and spent the post-war years locating and defusing bombs and landmines left in the Philippines. Yvanoff died in Zamboanga on 25 January 1973. He described his life in a memoir entitled "From Kazan to Zamboanga," recorded by Ann Evans, the wife of a mining engineer for whom Yvanoff had worked.

Acquisition information:
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 2000.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

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], Alexander Yvanoff Papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563
hooverarchives@stanford.edu
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