Vladimir Feofilovich Zeeler Papers, 1870-1950

Summary Information

Abstract

Vladimir Feofilovich Zeeler (Владимир Феофилович Зеелер; 1874-1954) was a Russian lawyer, state official and political activist; the Interior Minister in the South Russian Government; a pivotal figure of the Russian emigration; and a journalist, editor, memoirist and philanthropist. The collection includes correspondence, manuscripts, and photographs of many prominent cultural figures in the Russian emigration. A sizable part of the collection also concerns the painter Il'ia Repin (1844-1930).

At a Glance

Call No.:
BA#0516
Bib ID:
4078272 View CLIO record
Creator(s):
Zeeler, Vladimir Feofilovich, 1874-1954
Repository:
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Physical Description:
4.5 Linear Feet (11 manuscript boxes)
Language(s):
Russian .
Access:
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

Readers must use photocopies of letters from Il'ia Repin to Vladimir Zeeler.

This collection is located on site.

This collection is located on-site.

Description

Scope and Contents

The Vladimir Feofilovich Zeeler (1874-1954) papers consist of correspondence, manuscripts, documents, photographs, and memorabilia.

A sizable part of the collection concerns the painter Il'ia Repin (1844-1930), including letters to Zeeler from Repin and his children; photographs of Repin; and his artist's brushes and paints.

The collection includes correspondence with many prominent writers, poets, composers, artists, and political figures. Among Zeeler's correspondents are Konstantin Bal'mont, Aleksandr Benois, Ivan Bunin, Vladislav Khodasevich, Aleksandr Kuprin, Pavel Miliukov, Sergei Rakhmaninov, Nikolai Roerich, and Ivan Shmelev. There are one or two letters each from Marc Chagall, Mikhail Fokin (Michael Fokine), Knut Hamsun (copy), Rudyard Kipling (copy), Vladimir Nabokov, Leonid Pasternak, Sergei Kusevitskii, Dmitrii Merezhkovskii, and Fedor Shaliapin. (Some of this correspondence concerns Il'ia Repin).

Manuscripts include poems by Bal'mont, stories by Kuprin, and novels by Shmelev; there is also a nearly-complete manuscript of Pamiati pogibshikh (1929), a collection dedicated to the memory of Kadet Party members who had died between 1917 and 1921, edited by Zeeler and others.

There are also many photographs, some inscribed, of major cultural figures in the Russian emigration.

  • Series I: Correspondence

    Series includes letters of major cultural figures in the Russian emigration, including poets, writers, artists, composers, musicians, and political figures. There is also general and subject correspondence organized in Subseries I.2: Arranged correspondence.

  • Series II: Manuscripts

    Series includes poems by Konstantin Bal'mont, stories by Aleksandr Kuprin, writings by Il'ia Repin, Ivan Shmelev and other prominent authors. There is also a nearly-complete manuscript of Pami︠a︡ti pogibshikh (1929), a collection dedicated to the memory of Kadet Party members who had died in 1917-1921, edited by Zeeler and others.

  • Series III: Photographs and caricatures

  • Series IV: Cataloged Documents

  • Series V: Materials relating to Il'ia Repin and family

    Series includes letters to Zeeler from Repin and his children, photographs of Repin, as well as memorabilia including Repin's brushes and paints.

  • Series VI: Subject Files and Miscellaneous

    Series VI is a group of materials mostly related to Den' russkoi kul'tury (Day of Russian Culture) and Ob"edinenie russkikh advokatov vo Frantsii (Union of Russian Lawyers in France), and Bal pressy in 1936.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in six series.

Using the Collection

Restrictions on Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

Readers must use photocopies of letters from Il'ia Repin to Vladimir Zeeler.

This collection is located on site.

This collection is located on-site.

Conditions Governing Use

Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Vladimir Feofilovich Zeeler Papers; Box and Folder (if known); Bakhmeteff Archive, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Libraries.

Related Materials

Soiuz russkikh pisatelei i zhurnalistov v Parizhe Records, 1917-1952: Records of the Union of Russian Writers and Journalists in Paris, of which Zeeler was secretary for three decades. In the Bakhmeteff Archive, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Libraries.

Accruals

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Papers: Method of acquisition--Purchase; Date of acquisition--1957.

Papers: Method of acquisition--Purchase; Date of acquisition--1960.

Bibliography

Publications based on the V. F. Zeeler Papers: Schwartz, Stephen. "Intellectuals and assassins - annals of Stalin's killerati," The Nev York Times Book Review, Jan. 2U, 1988.(Photograph of Nadezhda Plevitskaya)

Draper, Theodore. "The mystery of Max Eitingon," The New York Review of Books, April 14, 1988. (Photograph of Nadezhda Plevitskaya)

Valkenier, Elizabeth Kridl. "Repin in Emigration," The Harriman Review, December, 1995 (excerpts from letters by Repin)

"Pis'mo T. I. Repinoi-Iazevoi k V. F. Zeeleru: Vstupitel'naia zametka i publikatsiia I. A. Doronchenkova" Belaruska-Ruskae Kul'turnae uzaemadzeianne kantsa XlX-pachatku XX st. Vitsebsk: Kamintern, 1995.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Papers Accessioned 1957.

Papers Accessioned 1960.

Papers Processed 09/--/79.

The collection was intellectually arranged into six series at the time the PDF finding aid was converted to EAD. The biographical note was also expanded, and related materials notes were added to the finding aid. No material was physically rearranged.

Revision Description

2020-04-20 PDF finding aid converted to EAD and biographical note revised by CLB and KSD.

Biographical note

Vladimir Feofilovich Zeeler (Владимир Феофилович Зеелер; 1874-1954) was a Russian lawyer, state official and political activist; the Interior Minister in the South Russian Government; a pivotal figure of the Russian emigration; and a journalist, editor, memoirist and philanthropist. After the defeat of the White Army, Zeeler left Russia and settled in Paris. He was one of the founders and a Secretary of the Union of Russian Writers and Journalists in Paris (Soiuz russkikh pisatelei i zhurnalistov v Parizhe), and a treasurer of the Union of Russian Lawyers in France (Ob'edinenie russkikh advokatov vo Frantsii).

Zeeler was born in Kiev on June 6, 1874. He graduated from the University of Kharkov and then worked as a lawyer in Rostov-on-Don. He was also an avid art collector; after his emigration his art collection was nationalized and became a part of the Don Regional Art Museum.

A member of the Constitutional Democratic Party, commonly known as the Kadet Party, Zeeler became politically active after the February Revolution of 1917. He was elected mayor of Rostov-on-Don in 1917. He condemned the Bolshevik revolution and on October 28, 1917, on behalf of the Rostov Duma, refused allegiance to those to whom he referred as "bandits." He actively supported the White Army.

Zeeler became a prominent member of the Russian émigré community in France. He was a founding member of the Union of Russian Writers and Journalists in Paris (Soiuz russkikh pisatelei i zhurnalistov), and served as its secretary for the next thirty years. He was also treasurer of the Union of Russian Lawyers in France (Ob'edinenie russkikh advokatov vo Frantsii), and secretary of the Days of Russian Culture (Dni russkoi kul'tury) central committee from 1927 onward. Zeeler was one of four editors of Pamiati pogibshikh (1929), a book commemorating the Kadet Party members who died between 1917 and 1921. He also was a member of the editorial board of the Russkaia mysl'.

Vladimir Zeeler died in Paris on December 27, 1954.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Genre/Form
Caricatures CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Letters (correspondence) CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Manuscripts (documents) CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Memorabilia CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Photographic prints CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Name
Aldanov, Mark Aleksandrovich, 1886-1957 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Alekhine, Alexander, 1892-1946 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Aleksandrova, Vera, 1895-1966 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Aleksandrovich, A. CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Amfiteatrov, Aleksandr, 1852-1938 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Andreyev, Leonid, 1871-1919 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Astrov, N. I. (Nikolaĭ Ivanovich), -1934 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Avksentʹev, N. D. (Nikolaĭ Dmitrievich), 1878-1943 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Balʹmont, Konstantin Dmitrievich, 1867-1942 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Benois, Alexandre, 1870-1960 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Benua , Alʹbert Nikolaevich, 1852-1936 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Berdi︠a︡ev, Nikolaĭ, 1874-1948 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Bilibin, Ivan I︠A︡kovlevich, 1876-1942 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Bogdanov-Belʹskiĭ, Nikolaĭ Petrovich, 1868-1945 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Braz, Osip, 873-1936 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Bunin, Ivan Alekseevich, 1870-1953 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Burov , Aleksandr, 1876-1967 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Burt︠s︡ev, V. L. (Vladimir Lʹvovich), 1862-1942 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Chagall, Marc, 1887-1985 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Chaliapin, Fyodor Ivanovich, 1873-1938 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Chernyĭ, Sasha CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Chirikov, E. N. (Evgeniĭ Nikolaevich), 1864-1932 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Denikin, Anton Ivanovich, 1872-1947 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Denikina, Ksenii︠a︡ Vasilʹevna, 1892-1973 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Dobuzhinskiĭ, Mstislav Valerianovich, 1875-1957 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Dolgorukov, Pavel Dmitrīevich, kni︠a︡zʹ, 1866-1927 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Dymow, Ossip, 1878-1959 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Evreinov, N. N. (Nikolaĭ Nikolaevich), 1879-1953 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Fabergé, Eugène, 1874-1960 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Fedorov, A. M. (Aleksandr Mitrofanovich), 1868-1949 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Fedorov, Mikhail Mikhaĭlovich, 1858-1949 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Fokine, Michel, 1880-1942 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Gershun, Boris Lʹvovich, 1870-1954 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Gessen, I. V. (Iosif Vladimirovich), 1866-1943 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Gessen, Vladimir, 1901-1982 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Gippius, Z. N. (Zinaida Nikolaevna), 1869-1945 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Glazunov, Aleksandr Konstantinovich, 1865-1936 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Gorky, Maksim, 1868-1936 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Grabbe , Mikhail Nikolaevich, graf CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Grebenshchikov, Georgīĭ, 1882-1964 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Grechaninov, Aleksandr Tikhonovich, 1864-1956 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Grigorʹev, Boris, 1886-1939 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Gruzenberg, O. O. (Oskar Osipovich), 1866-1940 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Guchkov, Aleksandr Ivanovich, 1862-1936 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Gusev-Orenburgskiĭ, S. I. (Sergeĭ Ivanovich), 1867-1963 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Hamsun, Knut, 1859-1952 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Iacovleff, Alexandre, 1887-1938 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Karrik, Valerian Vilʹi︠a︡movich, 1869-1942 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Kartashev, A. V. (Anton Vladimirovich), 1875-1960 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Kharitonov , Nikolaĭ (Nikolaĭ Vasilʹevich), 1880-1944 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Khodasevich, V. F. (Vladislav Felit͡sianovich), 1886-1939 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Kipling, Rudyard, 1865-1936 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Kiselevskiĭ , Georgiĭ Mitrofanovich, 1880 or 1881-1969 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Kizevetter, A. A. (Aleksandr Aleksandrovich), 1866-1933 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Kokovt︠s︡ov, Vladimir Nikolaevich, 1853-1943 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Konovalov , Aleksandr Ivanovich, 1875-1949 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Korovin, Konstantin Alekseevich, 1861-1939 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Koussevitzky, Serge, 1874-1951 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Kramář, Karel, 1860-1937 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Kshesinskai︠a︡ , Matilʹda Feliksovna, 1872-1971 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Kuprin, Aleksandr Ivanovich, 1870-1938 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Kuznet︠s︡ova , Galina, 1900-1976 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Lakhovskiĭ , Arnolʹd (Arnolʹd Borisovich), 1880-1937 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Lazarevskiĭ, Boris, 1871-1936 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Lifar, Serge, 1905-1986 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Lolo, 1868-1947 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Lukomskiĭ, G. K. (Georgiĭ Kreskentʹevich), 1884-1952 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Lʹvov, Georgiĭ Evgenʹevich, kni︠a︡zʹ, 1861-1925 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Lʹvov, Lolliĭ Ivanovich, 1888-approximately 1960 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Maklakov, V. A. (Vasiliĭ Alekseevich), 1870-1957 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Mali︠a︡vin, Filipp Andreevich, 1869-1940 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Merezhkovsky, Dmitry Sergeyevich, 1865-1941 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Mili︠u︡kov, P. N. (Pavel Nikolaevich), 1859-1943 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Minor, Osip Solomonovich, 1861-1933 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Muratov, P. P. (Pavel Pavlovich), 1881-1950 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Nabokov, Vladimir Vladimirovich, 1899-1977 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Nemirovich-Danchenko, Vasiliĭ Ivanovich, 1845-1936 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Nicolaevsky, Boris I., 1887-1966 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Obolenskiĭ, V. A., kni︠a︡zʹ (Vladimir Andreevich), 1869-1950 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Obʺedinenie russkikh advokatov vo Frant︠s︡ii CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Ot︠s︡up, Aleksandr Avdeevich, 1882-1949 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Panina, Sofii͡a Vladimirovna, grafini͡a, 1871-1956 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Pasternak, Leonid Osipovich, 1862-1945 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Pavle, Prince of Yugoslavia, 1893-1976 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Pavlov, Ivan Petrovich, 1849-1936 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Piatigorsky, Gregor, 1903-1976 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Pleshcheev, Aleksandr, 1858-1944 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Plevit︠s︡kai︠a︡ , Nadezhda Vasilʹevna, 1884-1940 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Rachmaninoff, Sergei, 1873-1943 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Remizov, Alekseĭ, 1877-1957 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Repin, Ili︠́a︡ Efimovich, 1844-1930 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Rodichev, F. I. (Fedor Izmaĭlovich), 1854-1933 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Rodicheva, Ekaterina Aleksandrovna CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Roerich, Nicholas, 1874-1947 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Roshchin, Nikolaĭ CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Sanin, A. A. (Aleksandr Akimovich), 1869-1956 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Shali︠a︡pin, Boris, 1904-1979 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Shcherbatov, Sergeĭ, kni︠a︡zʹ, 1875-1962 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Shebeko, Nikolaĭ Nikolaevich CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Shervashidze, Aleksandr, 1867-1968 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Shingarev, A. I. (Andreĭ Ivanovich), 1869-1918 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Shmelev, I. S. (Ivan Sergeevich), 1873-1950 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Shpoli︠a︡nskiĭ, Aminad Petrovich, approximately 1888-1957 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Shukhaev , Vasiliĭ Ivanovich, 1887-1973 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Sikorsky, Igor Ivan, 1889-1972 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Slīozberg, G. B. (Genrikh Borisovich), 1863-1937 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Soi︠u︡z russkikh pisateleĭ i zhurnalistov v Parizhe CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Sorin, Saveliĭ CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Speranskiĭ, Valentin Nikolaevich, 1877-1957 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Spessivtzeva , Olga, 1895-1991 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Stasov, V. V. (Vladimir Vasilʹevich), 1824-1906 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Stellet︠s︡kīĭ, D. S. CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Stepun, Fedor, 1884-1965 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Struve, Petr Berngardovich, 1870-1944 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Surguchev, Ilʹi︠a︡ , 1881-1956 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Teslenko, Nikolaĭ V., 1870-1942 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Tkhorzhevskiĭ, Iv. (Ivan) CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Tolstoĭ, Ilʹi︠a︡ Lʹvovich, graf, 1866-1933 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Trefilova, Vera, 1875-1943 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Tyrkova-Williams, Ariadna, 1869-1962 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Tėffi, N. A. (Nadezhda Aleksandrovna), 1872-1952 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Unkovskīĭ, V. (Vladimīr), 1888-1964 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Vinogradov, Sergeĭ, 1869-1938 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Vishni︠a︡k, M. V. (Mark Venʹi︠a︡minovich), 1883-1977 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Zaĭt︠s︡ev, Boris, 1881-1972 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Zenzinov, V. (Vladimir), 1880-1953 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Zurov, Leonid CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Subject
Art, Russian CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Artists, Russian CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Emigration and immigration -- Europe -- 20th century CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Emigration and immigration -- France -- 20th century CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Emigration and immigration -- France -- Russians -- 20th century CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Emigration and immigration -- Soviet Union -- 20th century CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Russian literature -- Foreign countries CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Russians -- Europe CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Soviet literature CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID