A Provincial Intellectual at the Breaking Point of History (on the Chistopol Doctor D.D. Avdeyev, the Prototype of Doctor Zhivago)

Abstract

This article dwells on the biography of the provincial doctor Dmitry D. Avdeyev (1879–1952) unfolding during the dramatic events in 20th-century Russia. The methods of intellectual history and micro-historiography allow us to create a certain “portrait of a provincial doctor against the background of the era”, who had to make cultural choices. The paper analyses the impact of Avdeyev’s life on the image of Doctor Zhivago, the protagonist in Boris Pasternak’s famous novel, who embodied the best features of the Russian intelligentsia: selfless devotion, action for the common good, disregard of material wealth, and commitment to the timeless humanistic ideals. Avdeyev’s origin and family as well as his professional path are described. Further, the paper studies the everyday life and practice of the ordinary provincial doctor in the early 20th century, including the period of the Civil War and famine of 1921–1922 in the Volga region. It is emphasized here that Avdeyev’s reminiscences of these tragic events, which he had shared with writers evacuated to Chistopol and Yelabuga (1941–1943), were directly and indirectly reflected in Doctor Zhivago. During the war, the doctor’s house in Chistopol became a kind of a writers’ club and a literary salon. It is concluded that the dramatic clash between Avdeyev’s (and Doctor Zhivago’s and, to some extent, Pasternak’s) thoughts and dreams and the reality of post-revolutionary Russia, as well as their being fettered by the actualities of the epoch were, nevertheless, overcome through the spirit of creativity and due to finding meaning in serving the Russian people. This paper provides deeper insights into the lives and behavioural patterns of Russian intellectuals during this landmark period and can be used in interdisciplinary research on the intellectual
history of 20th-century Russia and in literary studies.