Nabokov Museum

   The St.Petersburg V.V.Nabokov Museum is located in the former Nabokov family mansion at 47 Bolshaya Morskaya Street in St. Petersburg. Born in this house in 1899, Vladimir Nabokov lived here for 18 years, until his family was forced into exile in 1917. Readers can find recollections of the happy childhood and zealous adolescence he spent in the house in almost any of Nabokov's works. The house on Bolshaya Morskaya forms the setting for many of Nabokov's novels; it is especially apparent in his autobiography, Speak, Memory. According to Nabokov, the house always remained his "only home in the world": after being forced to leave St. Petersburg in November 1917, he never acquired a permanent home abroad.

   The museum was opened in April, 1998. It is one of the youngest literary museums in St. Petersburg and in Russia. The museum underwent major restoration in the summer of 2000. Very little has remained from the Nabokovs' family life in the Bolshaya Morskaya mansion. Time and history spared nothing, except the interiors of several rooms on the first and second floors of the building, the old stained glass window above the flight of stairs leading to the third floor, several books and dishes, Nabokov's aunt's address book, and a door bell which was hanging on a string by the door… But the museum collection keeps growing - thanks to donations from people who love Nabokov and care about preserving his memory. Nabokov memorabilia, including Vladimir Nabokov's personal effects as well as books and other objects connected to his life and art, form the core of the museum's collection.

   Books and other printed material related to Vladimir Nabokov, courtesy of their authors, collectors, and other friends of the Nabokov Museum, arrive at the Nabokov Museum regularly. Although the museum's library collection is rather small, it contains: first editions of Vladimir Nabokov's works; a few books from V. D. Nabokov's library; modern editions of Vladimir Nabokov's works in several languages; books and articles about Vladimir Nabokov and his art, including biographies, bibliographies, and criticism; rare books and photographs, which are relevant to the history of the Nabokov family; modern fiction, non-fiction, and academic editions, important for Nabokov studies (lepidoptera, chess, etc.); books and articles on literary history, literary criticism, and the theory of translation.

Open: Tues-Sun 11.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.
Location: 47 Bolshaya Morskaya Ul.