“Archive is the Only Way Towards the History of Literature…”: Marking the Jubilee of Natalia V. Kornienko

The article highlights the main milestones of the scholarly activity of Natalia Vasilyevna Kornienko, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who presently celebrates her jubilee and is greeted by the national academic community. The works of N.V. Kornienko, dedicated to the creative heritage of A. Platonov, M. Sholokhov, K. Fedin, Vs. Ivanov, have updated and streamlined the source database for the research of Soviet writers. The critical editions prepared by N.V. Kornienko are valued for their in-depth exploration of historical and literary material and thorough reliance on the documentary sources and archives. Such publications reveal the desire for unbiased research, the ability to consider material within two contrasting cultural streams (metropolis and emigration), which unite in the literature of the era, the contemplation of literary phenomena and processes against a broad socio-cultural background, pairing them with the corresponding phenomena and processes in other fields of creativity, primarily in social and philosophical thought. An outstanding scholar, she harmoniously combines devoted commitment to academic service with professorial skills, creating workspace friendly for everyone from young students to mature specialists in the field, so that all feel needed and involved in the great cause of preserving Russian culture.