Oleg Alekseevich Ryabov is a Nizhny Novgorod antiquarian bookseller, publisher and writer, owner of a second-hand bookshop in the city. In September 2026 he became known among bibliophiles for finding in his own home library a rare edition of 1820 containing the first publication of Alexander Pushkin's poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila".[1]

The find of 2026

The text was printed in the third volume of the "Textbook of Russian Letters" compiled by Nikolai Grech and published in 1820. The work appeared in four volumes in all. About ten years ago a seller brought two of the four volumes to Ryabov's shop, saying the old books had come to him from his grandfather and promising to offer other editions from the same library later. Ryabov bought the second and third volumes, intending to buy the first and fourth afterwards, but the seller never came back.[2]

About a year after the purchase Ryabov took the volumes home and put them on a shelf, where they stood for some ten years. In 2026, deciding to part with them, he happened to open the third volume at the page with Pushkin's work. The edition contained not the canonical text of the poem but an earlier, unfinished version, then titled "Lyudmila and Ruslan".[1] The third volume was passed by the censor in May 1820, whereas the separate edition of "Ruslan and Lyudmila" appeared only in August of that year — so the publication in Grech's textbook precedes the poem's first stand-alone edition and is an earlier printed version of it.[3]

The copy's history: a book from Volkonsky's library

The title page of the volume bears the stamp "KPV". Ryabov at first supposed the copy might have belonged to the poet Pyotr Vyazemsky. But while studying a collection of scholarly papers from the Smolensk regional library he came upon a study of this bookplate: the stamp belonged to Prince Pyotr Volkonsky, who used it for his library in the 1820s and 1840s.[2] Pyotr Volkonsky was a prominent courtier of the age of Alexander I, founder of the General Staff of the Russian army, who accompanied the emperor's coffin from Taganrog to St Petersburg.[2] How a book from his collection came to Nizhny Novgorod has not been established.[3]

While looking into the owner's history Ryabov also examined possible ties between Pushkin and Volkonsky. No direct relations were found. One episode of 1815, however, is connected with the prince's family: the sixteen-year-old Pushkin, at Tsarskoye Selo, took a lady of the court for a maid and began seeking her favour; the woman turned out to be a maid of honour to the empress and Pyotr Volkonsky's sister. She complained to her brother, who told Alexander I of the incident; the emperor, in Ryabov's version, treated the story with humour and ordered that it be taken no further. The bookseller believes it was then that Alexander I first heard Pushkin's name.[3]

Reaction among bibliophiles

Ryabov's paper on the book was presented at a meeting of the National Union of Bibliophiles and, by the accounts of those present, made a strong impression on collectors of rare books.[2] News of the find was published on 2 September 2026 by several regional and national outlets.[1][3][4]

Sources

  1. NIA Nizhny Novgorod — Nizhny Novgorod bookseller finds a Pushkin publication from the poet's lifetime (archived)
  2. Vremya N — A Pushkin publication from the poet's lifetime, from Volkonsky's collection, found in Nizhny Novgorod (archived)
  3. Newsroom24 — Book with the first publication of "Ruslan and Lyudmila" found in Nizhny Novgorod (archived)
  4. Otkrytiy Nizhny — A Pushkin publication from the poet's lifetime found at a bookseller's in Nizhny Novgorod (archived)