The Presidential Library marking the anniversary of the classic of Nivkh literature

March 20, 2020 the Presidential Library via video-conferencing mode held a video lecture series of the “Knowledge of Russia” cycle, dedicated to the life and career of the first Nivkh writer and creator of the Nivkh alphabet, Vladimir Mikhailovich Sangi. The event was held as part of a cooperation agreement between the Presidential Library and the Sakhalin Regional Universal Scientific Library.

The event brought together three sites remotely: the Presidential Library in St. Petersburg, the Sakhalin Regional Universal Scientific Library in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and the Reserve Center of the Presidential Library in Moscow.

Scientists, teachers, public and cultural figures, library specialists devoted their speeches to the multifaceted talent of Vladimir Sanga, the value of his work for preserving the culture of indigenous peoples. In particular, the native niece of the founder of Nivkh literature, candidate of philological sciences, professor, head of the department of Paleo-Asian languages, folklore and literature of the Institute of the Peoples of the North of the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia Lyudmila Gashilova spoke about the career of her uncle, who initially wanted to become a geographer, but became a world famous writer and public person.

The Sakhalin site was represented by Professor of the Department of Russian Language and Literature at the Institute of Philology, History and Oriental Studies of Sakhalin State University, Doctor of Philology Elena Ikonnikova and poet, prose writer, executive secretary of the Sakhalin branch of the Union of Writers of Russia Nikolai Tarasov.

Elena Ikonnikova devoted her speech to the Sakhalin period of literary formation of Vladimir Sangi, outlined the main vectors in his work and also reviewed the work that many years has been carried out by regional philologists to study the writer's oeuvre.

Nikolai Tarasov introduced his own experience in translating poetic texts from the Nivkh language into Russian using interlinear texts compiled by Vladimir Sangi, including the book “The Epic of the Sakhalin Nivkhs”, which is the fundamental long-term research work of the hero of the day.

The founder of the Nivkh literature, the creator of the Nivkh alphabet, the author of textbooks for the Nivkh schools, Vladimir Mikhailovich Sangi was born on March 18, 1935 in Sakhalin. He graduated from the Herzen Leningrad State Pedagogical Institute (1959), where he was engaged in literary work. After graduation, he returned to his homeland, taught at the Nivkh school, met with the Nivkhs, Oroks, Evenks, and Nanais as an inspector for minority affairs, wrote down the legends and traditions that were included in his first book, Nivkh Legends, published in 1961 and brought him all-Union fame. The works of Vladimir Sangi are translated into the languages ​​of the peoples of the USSR and foreign countries. Being the chairman of the commission on literature and folklore of the peoples of the North and the Far East, Vladimir Sangi devotes a lot of time to compiling and editing collections of works by national authors, translating Russian and world classics into the Nivkh language.

Materials from the Presidential Library’s electronic collections provide more information about the Nivkh people.

The Presidential Library’s portal  provides access Sakhalin Region: Pages of History collection, which includes historical and geographical descriptions of the mid-19th and early 20th centuries, travel essays, and newsreel fragments.