Mindlin's Archive

Emily Mindlin (1900-1981) was a multifaceted figure, known as a writer, journalist, and memoirist. He maintained close associations with poets such as Osip Mandelstam, Marina Tsvetaeva, and Vadim Bayan, the futurist poet, writer, and playwright. Between 1919 and 1921, he resided in Feodosia, where he actively participated in the Feodosia literary and artistic circle (FLAK), considering Maximilian Voloshin as his mentor. Notably, his novel "Vozvrashchenie doktora Fausta" (1923; "The Return of Doctor Faust") bears some resemblance to Mikhail Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita." Furthermore, Mindlin collaborated with Bulgakov on the literary supplement to the newspaper "Nakanune."
In 1928, Mindlin embarked on the icebreaker Krasin as a journalist, participating in the expedition to rescue General Umberto Nobile and his surviving crew. Upon his return, he authored several books chronicling this expedition, some of which were translated into Yiddish, Tajik, and Komi languages.
His book "This cannot be!" (1933), focusing on the construction of the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station, found translations in languages such as Mari, Karachay-Balkar, Kyrgyz, German, Yiddish, and Polish. In 1984, Mindlin's book about Alexandra Kollontai, the first woman in Lenin's cabinet, was published in Chinese.
After World War II, he assumed the role of the head of the literary department at the Central Children's Theater. However, in 1955, he faced arrest on charges of making "anti-Soviet statements" and was subsequently sent to a labor camp.