Georgi Mikhailov Collection

Collection

Identifier: 1991-0058

Staff Only

Scope and Content

The collection contains correspondence, clippings, and photographic materials regarding Mikhailov's experiences in Soviet Labor camps in Northeast Siberia from 1980-1983. The newspaper and magazine clippings are mostly from 1987, which corresponded with an article in the New York Times regarding Mikhailov’s photographs and labor camp experiences.

Dates

Creation: undated, 1982-2005

Access

The collection is open and available for research.

Restrictions on Use

Permission to publish from these Papers must be obtained in writing from both the University of Connecticut Libraries and the owner(s) of the copyright.

Biography

Georgi N. Mikhailov, born in 1945, was a physics professor at the University of Leningrad. In 1975, he began hosting an open house in his apartment on Sundays which exhibited works of art which had been banned by the Soviet government. The Soviet police force, the K.G.B., searched his apartment in 1977 confiscated 5,000 slides of paintings, which resulted in his dismissal from the University of Leningrad. In February 1979, Mikhailov was arrested and jailed in Leningrad. 300 of his paintings were destroyed at this time. The chapter of Amnesty International in Munich, Germany began advocating for his release. Mikhailov remained in prison in Leningrad for a year before being sent to three Soviet labor camps in Northeastern Siberia between 1980 and 1983 as a political prisoner. He maintained a camera while in the camp and smuggled the negatives to his mother in Leningrad. After being released in 1983, Mikhailov was rearrested two years later and jailed in Leningrad. After his release, he was granted a visa to immigrate to France, and married a French woman, Veronique, in 1985. In 1987, Mikhailov taught a summer course at the Tolstoy Foundation in New York. Georgie passed away in Berlin, Germany on October 10, 2014. The collection was donated to Archives & Special Collections by Lawrence Tobin, a personal friend of Mikhailov.

Extent

0.5 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Russian

Japanese

German

Additional Description

Abstract

Correspondence, newspaper and magazine clippings regarding Georgi Mikhailov’s life, in particular his time spent as a political prisoner in Soviet labor camps in Northeastern Siberia from 1980-1983. The collection also contains photographs and negatives of Mikhailov and the labor camps.

Arrangement

Series I: Correspondence, Clippings, and Photographic Materials (1982-1987, undated) consists of correspondence in Russian, newspaper and magazine clippings in English, German, Japanese, and Russian, as well as black and white photographs, color photographs, and negatives.

Acquisition Information

The Georgi Mikhailov Collection was donated in 1988 by Lawrence and Elizabeth Tobin in memory of Irina Kirk. Additions to the collection were received in 1989, 1991, and 1993.

Related Material

Archives & Special Collections has a substantial collection of materials pertaining to human rights, as well as a large collection of Communist newspapers and publications. For detailed information on these collections please contact the curator or ask at the Reading Room desk.