“Left Skaftymov’s ‘nest’ too early”: V. A. Bochkarev about A. P. Skaftymov

Abstract

The article discusses the relationship of V. A. Bochkarev, a graduate of Saratov University in 1930, the first postgraduate student of A. P. Skaftymov in 1930–1933, subsequently Doctor of Philology, professor, the head of the department of the Russian and Foreign literature of Kuybyshev (Samara) Pedagogical Institute (University) for many years, the author of the fundamental works on the Russian historical drama, and A. P. Skaftymov, the founder and the creator of Saratov School of Philology, a scientist of world renown. A. P. Skaftymov left philological legacy exclusively valuable in its scientific magnitude and he educated many students, the nestlings of Skavtymov’s “nest”, as they were called afterwards, some of them, including V. A. Bochkarev, have taken the rightful place in the literature science. The article covers the important role that A. P. Skaftymov played in the personal and scientific life of V. A. Bochkarev in his formation as a scientist and a teacher, who retained a grateful memory of his tutor. Some important memoir evidence by V. A. Bochkarev is presented, in which he dwells on the content and structure of the lecture courses given by A. P. Skaftymov, that V. A. Bochkarev chanced to attend as a student and a postgraduate, on the topics of the special seminars that A. P. Saftymov used to teach, on the reports that were prepared under his supervision, on the requirements of the scientific supervisor to the students’ and postgraduates’ papers, on the methods of scientific counselling, on A. P. Skaftymov’s inherent feeling of democracy, that was revealed in his behavior as the head of the department and the faculty. The article considers how V. A. Bochkarev perceived and evaluated the scientific, moral and educational lessons of A. P. Skaftymov, which he appropriated for his life and reflected in his memories and letters to his colleagues in Saratov.