Heritage
Alfred Bem
Born in 1886 · literary scholar and critic
My great-grandfather's cousin studied Russian literature and taught in Prague. For me, his work represents careful reading: understanding grows from specific observations that can be discussed and checked.
Working with texts
He entered St Petersburg University in 1908 and graduated in 1912, then worked with manuscripts at the Academy of Sciences library. From 1922 he lived in Prague, taught at Charles University and led the Skit Poets group and a Dostoevsky seminar. His studies examine reading, literary relationships and polemics.
The method of small observations
Alfred Bem called his research approach the “method of small observations”. He returned to the work itself and examined its details closely: a particular word, a repetition, a character’s name, a resemblance to another text. An understanding of the whole grew from these observations.
My approach in SpektrArt echoes this principle: an observation should have a location in the work — a quotation, a frame or a timestamp that we can return to and check as the basis for a conclusion. Interpretation and the final judgment remain with the person.
On the method: M. A. Vasilyeva, “The problem of the double in the work of the Prague Seminar for the Study of Dostoevsky: Open Space” · S. A. Skuridina and N. B. Bugakova, “A. Bem’s method of small observations as a basis for the study of literary onomastics”. VSU Bulletin. 2022, no. 4, pp. 60–63.
A separate essay
Dostoevsky as a Genius Reader (Russian), RHGA.
Title pages, covers and documents
A. L. Bem. On Chateaubriand’s Influence on Pushkin. St Petersburg, 1911. Offprint issued by S. A. Vengerov’s Pushkin seminar.
Author
Source: prlib.ru
A. L. Bem. Pushkin’s World Significance, with Examples of His Lyrics. Prague, 1936. Czech translation by Petr Křička.
Author
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz
A. L. Bem. Sabina Monaldeschi: An Unwritten Story by I. S. Turgenev. Dated 1945 in the catalogue. Typescript with an appendix of Turgenev texts.
Author
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz
A. L. Bem. Russian Scholars in Prague in the 1860s. Prague, 1938. Czech-language historical study.
Author
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz
A. L. Bem. On Pushkin: Articles. Uzhhorod: Pysmena, 1937. A collection of Pushkin studies.
Author
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz
A. L. Bem. Dostoevsky: Psychoanalytic Studies. Prague, 1938, as stated on this copy’s title page.
Author
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz
A. L. Bem. The Church and the Russian Literary Language. Prague: Russian Scholarly Academy, 1944.
Author
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz
A. L. Bem. The Problem of Guilt in Dostoevsky’s Art. Prague, 1936. Offprint from Life and Death, a memorial volume for N. E. Osipov.
Author
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz
A. L. Bem. Tolstoy’s Personality. Dated 1937 in the catalogue. Czech-language offprint.
Author
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz
A. L. Bem. Faust in Dostoevsky’s Work. Prague, 1937. A study issued by the Russian Free University.
Author
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz
A. L. Bem. A New Stage in Soviet Pedagogy. Prague, 1927. A pamphlet on the curriculum reform of the State Academic Council.
Author
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz
A. L. Bem. Plan for a New Reform of the Soviet Secondary School. Prague, 1924. Report delivered on 16 July.
Author
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz
A. L. Bem. The Fortunes of Advanced Education in the USSR. Prague, 1927. Russian Pedagogical Bureau pamphlet.
Author
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz
A. L. Bem. Gogol’s The Overcoat and Dostoevsky’s Poor Folk. Prague, 1927. Comparative study issued as an offprint.
Author
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz
A. L. Bem. On Gogol’s Influence on Dostoevsky. Prague, 1928. Literary study.
Author
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz
A. L. Bem. Pushkin’s World Significance. 1937. Bulgarian translation by Kiril Hristov.
Author
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz
A. L. Bem. The Mystery of Dostoevsky’s Personality. Prague: J. Otto, 1928. Translated from the manuscript by Anna Tesková, with an introduction by Emil Svoboda.
Author
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz
A. L. Bem. Dostoevsky: Psychoanalytic Studies. Ann Arbor: Ardis, 1983. Reprint of the 1938 study.
Author
Source: vtoraya-literatura.com
A. L. Bem. Studies. Letters on Literature. Moscow, 2001. Compiled by S. G. Bocharov, with an introduction and notes by Bocharov and I. Z. Surat.
Author
Source: biblio.imli.ru
A. L. Bem and V. I. Sreznevsky. Correspondence, 1911–1936. Brno, 2005. Prepared and annotated by M. Bubeníková and A. N. Goryainov.
Author
Source: inslav.ru
Peasant Russia, collection 4. Prague, 1923. Political and economic essays coedited by A. L. Bem.
Co-editor
Source: prlib.ru
Peasant Russia, collection 5–6. Prague, 1923. Political and economic essays coedited by A. L. Bem.
Co-editor
Source: prlib.ruEditions and publications
Selected books, articles, offprints, edited series and a typescript. This is a growing selection, not a complete bibliography.
Open list
К вопросу о влиянии Шатобриана на Пушкина
Author
A. L. Bem. On Chateaubriand’s Influence on Pushkin. St Petersburg, 1911. Offprint issued by S. A. Vengerov’s Pushkin seminar.
Source: prlib.ruИздания церковной печати времени императрицы Елисаветы Петровны, 1741–1761
Co-author; Compiler
V. I. Sreznevsky and A. L. Bem. Ecclesiastical Printing under Empress Elizabeth, 1741–1761. Petrograd, 1914. Exhibition catalogue, volume IV.
Source: rasl.ru · Source: rusneb.ruК уяснению понятия историко-литературного влияния
Author
A. L. Bem. Clarifying the Concept of Literary Influence. Petrograd, 1915. A methodological study responding to A. S. Polyakov’s “Pushkin and Pnin”.
Source: opac.museumpushkin.ru · Source: imli.ruБиблиография славяноведения
Author
A. L. Bem. A Bibliography of Slavic Studies. Petrograd, 1915. Article in Bibliological Collection, issue 1, pp. 40–46.
Source: imli.ru · Source: ube.nlu.org.ua«Днéвной» и «дневнóй» у Пушкина
Author
A. L. Bem. “Dnēvnoy” and “Dnevnōy” in Pushkin. St Petersburg, 1916. A short linguistic note on stress.
Source: search.rsl.ru · Source: imli.ruРусская литература в 1913 году
Author; Compiler
A. L. Bem. Russian Literature in 1913. Petrograd, 1916. Bibliographical survey, issued as an offprint.
Source: search.rsl.ru · Source: rasl.ruТолстовская библиография за 1912 год
Editor
Tolstoy Bibliography for 1912. Edited by A. L. Bem. St Petersburg, 1914. Survey of books and periodicals.
Source: prlib.ruТолстовская библиография за 1913 год
Author; Compiler
Tolstoy Bibliography for 1913. Compiled by A. L. Bem. Petrograd, 1915. Bibliographical survey.
Source: rusneb.ru · Source: imli.ruК истории изучения Толстого
Author
A. L. Bem. On the History of Tolstoy Studies. Petrograd, 1916. A survey of Tolstoy societies, publishing and bibliography.
Source: rasl.ru · Source: rusneb.ruРукописи великого князя Константина Константиновича, поступившие на хранение в Рукописное отделение Библиотеки Академии наук
Author
A. L. Bem. Manuscripts of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich in the Academy Library. Petrograd, 1917. Archival inventory.
Source: elib.shpl.ru · Source: prlib.ruК современникам Толстого
Co-author
A. L. Bem and V. I. Sreznevsky. To Tolstoy’s Contemporaries. Petrograd, 1917. Editorial appeal for the Tolstoy documentary series.
Source: imli.ruТолстой. Памятники творчества и жизни
Editorial contributor
Tolstoy: Records of His Work and Life. Petrograd and Moscow, 1917–1923. Documentary series prepared with V. I. Sreznevsky.
Source: slu.cas.cz · Source: imli.ruК уяснению историко-литературных понятий
Author
A. L. Bem. Clarifying Literary-Historical Concepts. [Petrograd, 1918]. A theoretical study of motif, plot and content.
Source: search.rsl.ru · Source: imli.ruРусская история, искусство и древности в 1913 году
Author; Compiler
A. L. Bem. Russian History, Art and Antiquities in 1913. Petrograd, 1918. Bibliographical survey.
Source: books.e-heritage.ru · Source: imli.ruОбозрение трудов по славяноведению
Co-author; Compiler
Survey of Slavic Studies. Bibliographical series. Bem worked with V. N. Beneshevich, V. I. Sreznevsky, M. R. Vasmer and A. A. Shakhmatov.
Source: rasl.ru · Source: slu.cas.cz · Source: prlib.ruЗ теоретичних питань бібліографії
Author
A. Bem. On Theoretical Questions of Bibliography. Kyiv, 1919. Three articles in Knyhar.
Source: ube.nlu.org.uaЛекции по истории древней русской литературы (до половины XVII века)
Author
A. L. Bem. Lectures on Early Russian Literature up to the Mid-Seventeenth Century. Prague, 1923. A course for the Comenius Russian Pedagogical Institute.
Source: imli.ruБиблиографический указатель творений Л. Н. Толстого
Compiler
A. L. Bem. Bibliographical Index of the Works of L. N. Tolstoy. Leningrad, 1926. With additions by V. I. Sreznevsky.
Source: rasl.ru · Source: opac.liart.ruШкола в Советской России. Три доклада
Co-author
School in Soviet Russia: Three Reports. Prague, 1925. A joint publication by S. I. Hessen, A. L. Bem and A. T. Pavlov.
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz · Source: kramerius5.nkp.czSvětový význam Puškinův. S ukázkami jeho lyriky
Author
A. L. Bem. Pushkin’s World Significance, with Examples of His Lyrics. Prague, 1936. Czech translation by Petr Křička.
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz · Source: kramerius5.nkp.czСабина Мональдески. Ненаписанная повесть И. С. Тургенева
Author
A. L. Bem. Sabina Monaldeschi: An Unwritten Story by I. S. Turgenev. Dated 1945 in the catalogue. Typescript with an appendix of Turgenev texts.
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz · Source: kramerius5.nkp.czRuští učenci v Praze (léta šedesátá)
Author
A. L. Bem. Russian Scholars in Prague in the 1860s. Prague, 1938. Czech-language historical study.
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz · Source: kramerius5.nkp.czО Пушкинѣ. Статьи
Author
A. L. Bem. On Pushkin: Articles. Uzhhorod: Pysmena, 1937. A collection of Pushkin studies.
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz · Source: kramerius5.nkp.czДостоевский. Психоаналитические этюды
Author
A. L. Bem. Dostoevsky: Psychoanalytic Studies. Prague, 1938, as stated on this copy’s title page.
The image shows the Prague copy of 1938. A separate Russian State Library record describes the Berlin Petropolis edition of 1938, 190 pages.
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz · Source: kramerius5.nkp.cz · Source: search.rsl.ruЦерковь и русский литературный язык
Author
A. L. Bem. The Church and the Russian Literary Language. Prague: Russian Scholarly Academy, 1944.
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz · Source: kramerius5.nkp.czПроблема вины в художественном творчестве Достоевского
Author
A. L. Bem. The Problem of Guilt in Dostoevsky’s Art. Prague, 1936. Offprint from Life and Death, a memorial volume for N. E. Osipov.
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz · Source: kramerius5.nkp.czOsobnost Tolstého (k 25. výročí jeho smrti)
Author
A. L. Bem. Tolstoy’s Personality. Dated 1937 in the catalogue. Czech-language offprint.
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz · Source: kramerius5.nkp.cz«Фауст» в творчестве Достоевского
Author
A. L. Bem. Faust in Dostoevsky’s Work. Prague, 1937. A study issued by the Russian Free University.
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz · Source: kramerius5.nkp.czНовый этап советской педагогики (программно-методическая реформа ГУСа)
Author
A. L. Bem. A New Stage in Soviet Pedagogy. Prague, 1927. A pamphlet on the curriculum reform of the State Academic Council.
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz · Source: kramerius5.nkp.czПлан новой реформы советской школы второй ступени
Author
A. L. Bem. Plan for a New Reform of the Soviet Secondary School. Prague, 1924. Report delivered on 16 July.
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz · Source: kramerius5.nkp.czСудьбы повышенного образования в С. С. С. Р.
Author
A. L. Bem. The Fortunes of Advanced Education in the USSR. Prague, 1927. Russian Pedagogical Bureau pamphlet.
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz · Source: kramerius5.nkp.cz«Шинель» Гоголя и «Бедные люди» Достоевского
Author
A. L. Bem. Gogol’s The Overcoat and Dostoevsky’s Poor Folk. Prague, 1927. Comparative study issued as an offprint.
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz · Source: kramerius5.nkp.czК вопросу о влиянии Гоголя на Достоевского
Author
A. L. Bem. On Gogol’s Influence on Dostoevsky. Prague, 1928. Literary study.
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz · Source: kramerius5.nkp.czСветовното значение на Пушкина
Author
A. L. Bem. Pushkin’s World Significance. 1937. Bulgarian translation by Kiril Hristov.
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz · Source: kramerius5.nkp.czTajemství osobnosti Dostojevského
Author
A. L. Bem. The Mystery of Dostoevsky’s Personality. Prague: J. Otto, 1928. Translated from the manuscript by Anna Tesková, with an introduction by Emil Svoboda.
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz · Source: kramerius5.nkp.czRusskoje slovo — Ruské slovo. Učebnice pro školu a dům
Co-author
A. L. Bem, V. Melichar and S. I. Varshavsky. Ruské slovo. Prague: Khutor, 1943. Third revised edition of a Russian-language textbook.
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz · Source: kramerius5.nkp.czRusskoje slovo — Ruské slovo. Učebnice pro školu a dům
Co-author
A. L. Bem, V. Melichar and S. I. Varshavsky. Ruské slovo. Prague: Khutor, [1940]. Russian-language textbook.
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz · Source: kramerius5.nkp.czЖизнь и смерть. Сборник памяти д-ра Н. Е. Осипова. Часть I
Co-editor
Life and Death: In Memory of N. E. Osipov. Part I, Prague, 1935. Edited by A. L. Bem, F. N. Dosuzhkov and N. O. Lossky.
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz · Source: kramerius5.nkp.czЖизнь и смерть. Сборник памяти д-ра Н. Е. Осипова. Часть II
Co-editor
Life and Death: In Memory of N. E. Osipov. Part II, Prague, 1936. A collection of memorial essays, coedited by A. L. Bem.
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz · Source: kramerius5.nkp.czО Достоевском. Том I
Author; Editor
On Dostoevsky, volume I. Prague, 1929. Essays from the Prague Dostoevsky seminar, edited by A. L. Bem.
Source: rp-net.ru · Source: catalog.hathitrust.orgО Достоевском. Том II
Author; Editor
On Dostoevsky, volume II. Prague, 1933. Includes “Dostoevsky as a Brilliant Reader” and the dictionary of personal names.
Source: rp-net.ru · Source: elibrary.domrz.ruУ истоков творчества Достоевского. Грибоедов, Пушкин, Гоголь, Толстой и Достоевский
Author
A. L. Bem. At the Origins of Dostoevsky’s Work. Prague, 1936. A monograph forming volume III of On Dostoevsky.
This is also volume III of On Dostoevsky; it is not counted here as a second independent book.
Source: rp-net.ru · Source: ci.nii.ac.jpЛичные имена у Достоевского
Author
A. L. Bem. Personal Names in Dostoevsky. Sofia, 1933. A study of literary names, published in the volume honouring Lyubomir Miletich.
Source: unicat.nalis.bgO Dostojevském. Sborník statí a materiálů
Author
A. L. Bem. On Dostoevsky: Essays and Materials. Prague, 1972. Posthumous collection including a name dictionary for A Writer’s Diary.
Source: rusneb.ru · Source: doi.orgДостоевский. Психоаналитические этюды
Author
A. L. Bem. Dostoevsky: Psychoanalytic Studies. Ann Arbor: Ardis, 1983. Reprint of the 1938 study.
Source: vtoraya-literatura.comЦерковь и русский литературный язык
Author
A. L. Bem. The Church and the Russian Literary Language. Brussels: Life with God, 1988. Posthumous reissue.
Source: cat.libnvkz.ruПисьма о литературе / Dopisy o literatuře
Author
A. L. Bem. Letters on Literature. Prague, 1996. Selected criticism compiled by Miluša Bubeníková and Lenka Vachalovská, edited by Lyubov Beloshevskaya.
Source: ube.nlu.org.ua · Source: nm1925.ruИсследования. Письма о литературе
Author
A. L. Bem. Studies. Letters on Literature. Moscow, 2001. Compiled by S. G. Bocharov, with an introduction and notes by Bocharov and I. Z. Surat.
The printed edition has 448 pages; the number of digital file pages can differ.
Source: biblio.imli.ru · Source: imwerden.de · Source: classica.rhga.ruПереписка. 1911–1936
Author
A. L. Bem and V. I. Sreznevsky. Correspondence, 1911–1936. Brno, 2005. Prepared and annotated by M. Bubeníková and A. N. Goryainov.
Source: inslav.ru · Source: vtoraya-literatura.com
Вокруг Достоевского. Том 1: О Достоевском
Author; Editor
Around Dostoevsky, volume 1. Moscow: Russky Put, 2007. Reissue of the three Prague volumes edited by Bem; prepared by Maria Magidova.
Source: rp-net.ruКрестьянская Россия. Сборник 4
Co-editor
Peasant Russia, collection 4. Prague, 1923. Political and economic essays coedited by A. L. Bem.
The pictured copy is dated 1923 on its title page; the Presidential Library catalogue gives 1924.
Source: prlib.ru · Source: emigrantica.ruКрестьянская Россия. Сборник 5–6
Co-editor
Peasant Russia, collection 5–6. Prague, 1923. Political and economic essays coedited by A. L. Bem.
Source: prlib.ru · Source: emigrantica.ruКрестьянская Россия. Сборник 7
Co-editor
Peasant Russia, collection 7. Prague, 1924. A collection coedited by A. L. Bem.
Source: emigrantica.ruКрестьянская Россия. Сборник 8–9
Co-editor
Peasant Russia, collection 8–9. Prague, 1924. A collection coedited by A. L. Bem.
Source: emigrantica.ru
Books about Alfred Bem
Selected books, articles, offprints, edited series and a typescript. This is a growing selection, not a complete bibliography.
Open list
Alfréd Ljudvigovič Bém (1886–1945?): bibliografie
Book about Bem
Miluša Bubeníková and Lenka Vachalovská. Alfred Bem: Bibliography. Prague, 1995. A reference work on Bem’s writings and scholarship.
Source: digitalniknihovna.cz · Source: slu.cas.cz
А. Л. Бем и гуманитарные проекты русского зарубежья
Book about Bem
A. L. Bem and the Humanities Projects of the Russian Emigration. Moscow, 2008. Conference papers, documents and memoirs; includes Yu. O. Bem’s account of Alfred and Otto.
Source: rp-net.ruБиблиотека А. Л. Бема: Варшава — Прага, 1921–1945. Опыт реконструкции и описания
Book about Bem
The Library of A. L. Bem: Warsaw–Prague, 1921–1945. Prague, 2021. A reconstruction and catalogue of Bem’s personal library.
Source: rasl.ru · Source: rusneb.ru
Work and documented connections
Bem studied at St Petersburg University from 1908 and completed his studies in 1912.
Source: slu.cas.cz · Source: imli.ruAt the Academy of Sciences Library, Bem worked under A. A. Shakhmatov and V. I. Sreznevsky.
Source: rasl.ru · Source: inslav.ruBem’s study of Chateaubriand and Pushkin grew out of S. A. Vengerov’s Pushkin seminar.
Source: prlib.ru · Source: imli.ruBem’s correspondence with Sreznevsky documents their scholarly collaboration across borders.
Source: inslav.ru · Source: vtoraya-literatura.comBem taught Russian at Charles University in Prague, 1922–1939.
Source: slu.cas.czBem taught Russian literature at Prague’s Comenius Russian Pedagogical Institute, 1923–1934.
Source: slu.cas.cz · Source: imli.ruBem established a Dostoevsky seminar at Prague’s Russian People’s University in 1925.
Source: rp-net.ru · Source: slu.cas.czIn 1932 Bem defended a dissertation on the evolution of Stavrogin at Prague’s German University.
Source: slu.cas.cz · Source: imli.ruBem led Prague’s Skit of Poets, founded in 1922 at the initiative of S. Rafalsky and N. Dzevanovsky.
Source: domrz.ruBem joined the Slavic Institute in 1931 and the Prague Linguistic Circle in 1933.
Source: slu.cas.czBem served as secretary of the Russian Pedagogical Bureau and edited its bulletins; V. V. Zenkovsky chaired the bureau.
Source: imli.ru · Source: classica.rhga.ruBem collaborated with N. E. Osipov on Dostoevsky studies and coedited his memorial volumes.
Source: doi.org · Source: rp-net.ruBem and members of the Prague seminar compiled the Dictionary of Personal Names in Dostoevsky.
Source: rp-net.ru · Source: science.vvsu.ruPushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Turgenev, Goethe and Chateaubriand were subjects of Bem’s scholarship.
Source: rasl.ru · Source: rp-net.ruDuring the war Bem taught at Prague’s Second Real Gymnasium; in January 1945 he received a library appointment.
The Slavonic Institute reference dates his appointment as librarian of the Reichsstiftung für wissenschaftliche Forschung Reinhard Heydrich to 3 January 1945. This documents an appointment, not political beliefs.
Source: slu.cas.cz