From Russia, with love

After decades of hard work, his lifelong commitment has been acknowledged by then Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Andrew Donskov, a world-renowned Tolstoy scholar and distinguished professor at the University of Ottawa, was one of two Canadians presented with the Pushkin Medal last month.

Instituted in 1999 to honour the 200th anniversary of the birth of the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, the medal was bestowed on the two for their great contribution to the rapprochement and mutual enrichment of different people’s cultures and the study and popularization of the Russian language and culture.

Unable to travel to the Kremlin, Donskov received his award from the Russian ambassador on June 11.

Donskov indicates, metaphorically speaking, it’s like receiving recognition from the people of Russia since it was bestowed on him by their leader.

The professor credits his grandfather, in part, for instilling in him a desire to study his family’s homeland. His grandfather, who had to flee Russia in the 1920s, taught him many things about the country he never saw again. “He was the man who taught us about Russia… about its beauty,” Donskov says.

A general with the White Army – known as the Cossacks – Donskov’s grandfather had to leave because his life was in danger. With the option of going to France or Yugoslavia, he chose the latter. His eldest son, a young military officer, fled with him.

Donskov’s grandfather not only left the country he loved and fought for, he also left his wife and two younger children behind. He would never see them again. “He liked Yugoslavia very much,” Donskov says of his grandfather, adding that he had a tremendous longing to return to Russia when it was free.

However, he died in 1952, unable to return to his homeland.

Before his death, though, he poured his heart and soul into his writing. As a tribute, Donskav had the works published, calling the book In the path of exile.

As a result of the flight from Russia, Donskov was born in Yugoslavia. He emigrated to Canada in the ‘60s when he was 17 years old, explaining his father decided to move because it was getting unpleasant for those with a Russian background. “Some Russians were dispatched to neighbouring communist countries,” Donskov recalls.

Before arriving at a port in Halifax, the young man spent two and a half years in a refugee camp in Italy. While the conditions were cramped, Donskov says he wasn’t “bothered a great deal” by it, although leaving his friends behind was difficult.

Adjusting to life in Canada wasn’t easy, either. An avid soccer player, young Donskov found the sport wasn’t very popular here. He also didn’t speak English or French and had to start from scratch. “That was the hard part, initially,” Donskov says of the language barrier.

Expected to study and apply himself, Donskov and his siblings went to school right away.

Donskov eventually moved to Vancouver where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Russian Studies and English Literature and later a Master’s in Russian Literature at the University of British Columbia.

In 1972 he earned his Ph.D at the University of Helsinki in Russian Literature. Donskov says he studied in Helsinki because there was a famous professor there at the time. The university, he added, had a fabulous Russian library because Finland was part of the Russian Empire in the early part of the 19th century.

In 1968 Donskov finally got to see, firsthand, the country he had heard so much about. He travelled to Russia to study original works at the library. His every movement watched – “absolutely controlled,” Donskov says – the young scholar spent most of his time in Moscow. Despite the constraints, it became the first of many visits to follow.

After establishing an intensive Russian workshop at the University of Waterloo, Donskov embarked on a first: He took 25 students to Diuni, not far from Leningrad. “It was a marvelous opportunity for students,” Donskov recalls, adding there were various excursions.

The university professor has since helped bring about many partnerships between Canadian and Slavic institutions of learning. The idea, Donskov explains, is to develop good relationships and foster a better understanding.

He also founded the Slavic Research Group at the University of Ottawa’s faculty of Arts. Over the last 10 years the group has produced 25 publications, Donskov says.

Now 69 years old, the professor has no plans to retire. He will continue to work with the research group and the editorial board of the massive new edition of Tolstoy’s works now being published, and teach a new generation about the beauty of a country that was destined to endure a great deal of suffering.