Literary Fund

Categories / Literature. Book Publishing/Salons, Circles, Creative Associations and Unions
LITERARY FUND (the Society of the Literary Fund) was the unofficial name for the Society for Help of Literary Men and Scientists in Need, organized in 1859 on the initiative of A. V. Druzhinin with the purpose of rendering material help to writers, scientists, public figures in need and for members of their families. I. S. Turgenev, N. G. Chernyshevsky, N. A. Nekrasov, A. N. Ostrovsky, L. N. Tolstoy, A. V. Nikitenko, A. A. Kraevsky were among its founders, the first head was E. P. Kovalevsky. The activity of the Literary Fund was supervised by an elected committee comprised of persons with perfect reputation having authority with literary people. The finances of the fund were comprised of dues, donations, transfers of author's rights for literary works, incomes from publishing activity, readings, lectures, literary soirees, performances etc. arranged by the Committee of the Fund in the hall of the Passage (19 Italyanskaya Street), in the halls of Ruadze (61 Moika River Embankment) and in Tenishevsky College (33-35 Mokhovaya Street) etc. Sittings of the Committee of the Literary Fund were held in the flats of its heads, from the beginning of the 20th century - in the House of Writers (19 Literatorov Street), general meetings of members were arranged in the house of Utin in 1860-62 (14 Moika River Embankment), then in the building of the Ministry for People's Education (today 1/5 Lomonosova Square). The widow of V. G. Belinsky, writers G. I. Uspensky, S. Y. Nadson, K. M. Stanyukovich, M. Gorky, A. S. Grin and many others were among those who received cash benefits from the Literary Fund. In 1918 the Literary Fund ceased existing. In 1934 the Literary Fund of the USSR was organised in the structure of the Union of Soviet Writers, its department existed in Leningrad, the House of Writers Relaxation in Komarovo subordinated to it was one of the centres of the cultural life of Leningrad.

References: Юбилейный сборник Литературного фонда, 1859-1909. СПб., [1910]; Ярославцев Я. А. Издательская деятельность Литературного фонда (1859-1917) // Книга: Исслед. и материалы. М., 1987. Сб. 54. С. 141-158; Его же. Документы Литературного фонда о жизни и быте русских писателей второй половины XIX - начала ХХ в. // Археографический ежегодник за 1987 г. М., 1988. С. 204-209; Полевая М. И. Дом писателей им. В. Ф. Голубева // Дома рассказывают. СПб., 2002. Вып. 2. С. 203-267.

A. B. Muratov. Belinsky Vissarion Grigorievich
Chernyshevsky Nikolay Gavrilovich
Druzhinin Alexander Vasilievich
Gorky Maxim (Alexey Maximovich Peshkov)
Grin Alexander Stepanovich
Kovalevsky Evgraf Petrovich
Kraevsky Andrey Alexandrovich
Nadson Semen Yakovlevich
Nekrasov Nikolay Alexeevich
Nikitenko Alexander Vasilievich
Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolaevich
Stanyukovich Konstantin Mikhailovich
Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich, Count
Turgenev Ivan Sergeevich
Uspensky Gleb Ivanovich
Utin Yakov Isaakovich
Italyanskaya Street/Saint Petersburg, city, house 19
Literatorov St./Saint Petersburg, city, house 19
Lomonosova Square/Saint Petersburg, city, house 1/5
Moika River Embankment/Saint Petersburg, city, house 61
Moika River Embankment/Saint Petersburg, city, house 14
Mokhovaya St./Saint Petersburg, city, house 35
Mokhovaya St./Saint Petersburg, city, house 33
Ярославцев Я. А. Издательская деятельность Литературного фонда (1859-1917) // Книга: Исслед. и материалы. М., 1987
Полевая М. И. Дом писателей им. В. Ф. Голубева // Дома рассказывают. СПб., 2002
Юбилейный сборник Литературного фонда, 1859-1909. СПб., [1910] 1859