Shapiro (Nadia L.) papers, 1910-1984

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Summary

Title:
Nadia L. Shapiro papers
Dates:
1910-1984
Creators:
Varneck, Elena, 1891-1976 and Shapiro, Nadia L. (Nadia Lavrova), 1897-1989
Abstract:
Papers of the Russian-American writer and journalist include writings, letters, printed matter, and photographs, relating to the Russian Civil War in Siberia, and to Russian émigré life in China and the United States. Contains a memoir of the Russian Civil War in the Blagoveshchensk area and of the trial of the Socialist Revolutionary A. N. Alekseevskii in Blagoveshchensk in 1918 (with a translation by Elena Varneck). Also includes records of N. L. Shapiro's work with the Office of War Information during World War II.
Extent:
12 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize folder, 2 phonorecords (5.1 Linear Feet)
Language:
In English and Russian
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Nadia L. Shapiro papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Background

Scope and content:

The Nadia Shapiro papers consist of material related to the life and work of the Russian-American writer and journalist Nadezhda Lazarevna Shapiro.

The collection includes correspondence, writings, pamphlets, clippings, stories, essays, sketches, other printed matter, photographs, and other pictorial materials relating to the Russian Civil War in Siberia, and to Russian émigré life in China and the United States. There is also material relating to her U.S. government service during World War II.

Nadia Shapiro was a freelance writer, and also worked as a staff feature writer for the San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times (Sunday Magazine), Christian Science Monitor, and Russian language publications in the United States. Most of her writing in English was done under the pen name of "Nadia Lavrova" or "NL," while in Russian she signed her works as "Nadezhda Lavrova."

Nadia Shapiro devoted a major part of her spare time to literary activities without, however, submitting anything for publication, which she justified as due to the peculiar nature of her confidential work with different federal agencies. She gathered a great variety of notes and drafts of sketches, stories, essays, and book and chapter outlines –- all in preparation for the later processing of some of this material into stories and books.

The collection includes a wealth of romantic short stories. A few of them were published during Shapiro's freelancing and news writing days. Considering her Russian origin, there are also notes for an autobiographical narrative "My Old Home Town Was Blagoveschensk," which covers the Russian Civil War and the trial of the Socialist Revolutionary A. N. Alekseevskii in 1918.

The Hoover Institution Library & Archives acquired the Nadia Shapiro papers in 1990.

Biographical / historical:
Date Event
1897 October 20
Born, Irkutsk, Siberia, Russia
1914 May
High school diploma, Irkutsk, Siberia, Russia
1915-1916
Elementary school teacher certificate, one-year pedagogical course in Blagoveschensk, Siberia, Russia
1916-1917
Studied at the Moscow Women's College, Russia
1917-1918
Teacher of English language, Blagoveschensk Polytechnical School, Siberia, Russia
1918
Fled with her family from the Bolsheviks to Harbin, Manchuria, China
1918-1920
Interpreter and feature writer for the newspaper Novosti zhizni, Harbin, Manchuria, China
1920-1921
Performed literary work and studied Japanese, Yokohama, Japan
1921
Foreign Editor, Zaria newspaper, Harbin, Manchuria, China
1922 August
Arrived in the United States under the sponsorship of the Harbin Y.M.C.A.
1923 May 29
B.A., University of California, Berkeley (after Russian diplomas were validated)
1923-1932
Feature writer and Book and Art page editor for the San Francisco Examiner
1928 February 6
Acquired U.S. citizenship
1932-1942
Free-lanced, contributing to the Christian Science Monitor and various West Coast publications, under byline "Nadia Lavrova"
1936-1937
Play reader and research writer/editor for the Federal Theatre in San Francisco, Work Projects Administration
1937-1942
Legal research editor, Historical Records Survey of Northern California, Work Projects Administration
1942-1945
Translator and examiner, U.S. Office of Censorship
1945
Writer, U.S. Office of War Information
1945 May-June
Member, Russian section, Interpreters and Translators Bureau of the International Secretariat at the United Nations Conference on International Organization, San Francisco
1946-1953
Foreign broadcast monitor, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency
1989
Died
Acquisition information:
Materials were acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 1990
Arrangement:

The collection is organized into eight series: Biographical File, Correspondence, Writings, Subject File, Printed Matter, Art Work, Postcards, and Photographs.

Physical location:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Natasha Porfirenko, Yves Franquien
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-03-31 15:13:55.625474

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], Nadia L. Shapiro 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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