How a woman ‘did her utmost’ to ensure Dombrovsky’s imprisonment. Based on evidence in the 1949 criminal case file

Abstract

Researchers and memoirists have for some time been focusing on Y. Dombrovsky’s fourth criminal proceedings (1949). Their peculiar appeal lies in a fatal woman’s involvement. Among the writer’s friends and acquaintances who testified during the proceedings, there is a record of one Irina Strelkova. Years later she would be condemned as a female Judas. Accounts would emerge insisting that it was her testimony that sealed Dombrovsky’s fate, featuring prominently in the prosecution’s case and bringing about his ten-year prison camp sentence. The accusers rely on Dombrovsky’s letter published soon after his death that talks of Strelkova and her enthusiasm during the investigation — in short, her eagerness to bury him. The article attempts to get to the bottom of these accusations and, should they prove false, discover the reason for this vilification. In order to do so, I. Duardovich scours the case file, uncovering previously unpublished and uncommented materials, thus making it the first comprehensive study of the proceedings.