To my dear N.K. and N.I. Kul’man, Iv.Bunin. 24 April 1931

The second dedication to the Kul’mans by Bunin is found in a first edition of his Ten’ ptitsy (Shadow of a bird), or Tien’ ptitsy using pre-Soviet orthography as here (standard in the early Russian émigré community).

The Kul’mans were close friends of Bunin and his wife Vera for over 50 years and often acted as the first readers and editors of Bunin’s works.  When Bunin was awarded the Nobel Prize, it was Nikolai Kul’man who Bunin appointed to be the financial executor of the prize money.  Kul’man dedicated his life to preserving the Russian language and culture abroad and yet his and his wife’s names have been almost forgotten.  Work is underway to research and translate the large corpus of Kul’man-Bunin correspondence held in the Leeds Russian Archive.

Tien’ ptitsy / Iv. Bunin (1931)