Nickolsky Nickolay

Nickolsky Nickolay (1878–1961) – ethnographer and folklorist, in the revolutionary years – social activist.

In 1899-1903, he studied at the Kazan’ Spiritual Seminary, that taught at the Kazan’ Aboriginal Spiritual Seminary. He was the first Chuvash, who got the research degree of mater: his Master thesis was ‘Christianity among the Chuvash People of the Middle Volga Region in the Sixteenth – Seventeenth Centuries: Historical Survey’ (1913). In 1915-1917, he was Ass. Docent of the Kazan’ University (course: History of Christian Enlightening of the Aborigines of the Volga Region). In 1917, in Kazan’, he organized the Society of Small Peoples of the Volga Region, and the first newspaper in Chuvash language – ‘Hypar’. (he was the Chief Editor of its first 22 issues). He was known as musician and healer. Professor of the Kazan’ University (1918-1922); Professor of the Eastern Teachers-Training Institute (1922-1931).

He made a great input into studying various issues of the history, ethnography, linguistic and folk studies of the peoples of the Volga Region.

In 1931, he was arrested but soon got freedom; in 1933, he was arrested again and stayed under the arrest for a half of the year. In 1931-1947, he failed to find a regular job, worked as a free-lancer for various institutions. In 1947, he defended his Doctor thesis. In 1948-1950, he was Professor of the Mari Teachers-Training Institute.

Compositions

Native Language as a Tool for Enlightening Aborigines. Kazan’, 1904. (in Rus.)
On the Aborigines Issue in the Reign of Catherine the Great // Pravoslavnyi sobesednik. 1905, vol. 3, pp. 673‒677. (in Rus.)
An Abstract on the History of Chrostian Enlightening of the Chuvash People. Kazan’, Central Typography, 1909. (in Rus.)
Religional and Moral State of the Aborigines of the Volga Region // Inorodcheskoe obozrenie. 1912, book 1, pp. 3-5. (in Rus.)
The Most Important Statistic Data on the Aborigines of Eastern Russia and Western Siberia, Who are under the Islamic Influence / Edit. Bishop Andrey Mamadyshsky and N. V. Nickolsky. Kazan’, Gov Typography, 1912. (in Rus.)
Christianity among the Chuvash People of the Middle Volga Region in the Sixteenth – Seventeenth Centuries: Historical Survey. Kazan’, 1912. (in Rus.)
Dissemination of Christianity among the Chuvash People of the Nizhny Novgorod Region up to 1764 // Zhivaya starina. 1915, vol. 24, iss. 1-2, pp. 115‒160. (in Rus.)
On the History of Christian Enlightening of Cheremis in the Nineteenth Century. Kazan’, 1915. (in Rus.)
Short Chuvash-Russian Dictionary. Kazan’, 1919. (in Rus.)
The History of Mari. 1920. (in Rus.)
A Short Course of Ethnography of the Chuvash People. Iss.1: Material Culture. Cheboksary, 1929. (in Rus.)

About him

80th Anniversary of Prof. N. V. Nickolsky // Issues of Archeology and History of Chuvash. Cheboksary, 1960. С. 380‒381. (in Rus.)
Dimitriev V. D. Nickolay Vasilievich Nickolsky: Essay of Life and Activity // Issues of Historiography of the Historical and Ethnographical Studying of Chuvash. Cheboksary, 1981, pp. 45‑113. (in Rus.)
Leontieva А. М. On the issue of Historical Views of N. V. Nickolsky // Uchenye zapiski of the Cheboksary Reserch Institute of History. Cheboksary, 1966, iss. 31, pp. 310‒320. (in Rus.)
The Founder of ‘Khypar’, Prof. Nickolay Nickolsky // Khypar-Digest. 1997, June, No 1. (in Rus.)
Petrov C. C. N. V. Nickolsky ‒ the Founder of ‘Khypar’ // Mass Media in Russia: History and Modernity. Cheboksary, 1999, pp. 77-83. (in Rus.)

M. Sh.