From the editors of the magazine “Znamya” At one time, the magazine “Znamya” for the first time in Russia published “Memoirs” of Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov (1990, nos. 10-12, 1991, nos. 1-5). Now we are again turning to his legacy. The document novel is such an unusual genre that emerged after the deciphering of E.G. Bonner diary notebooks A.D. Sakharov, covering the period from 1977 to 1989. These records required clarifications, additions and comments made by Elena Georgievna. We are printing a magazine version of the introductory chapter to the Diaries.

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RJ: The section of the book, designated in the publication by the title “Before the Diaries,” was published separately in “Znamya”, but in the text there are some differences. How much has the magazine version changed compared to the book version? Elena Kholmogorova, editor of “Diaries”: Mainly, it has been shortened. It has been reduced greatly - I think by about a third, no less. And, by the way, “Before the Diaries” is a completely valuable document in its own right. Among other things, Elena Georgievna has an undoubted literary gift; she is, after all, the author of quite a large number of books. I really love her “Mothers and Daughters” - an autobiographical book. After publication in Znamya, we received letters from angry readers that not all intimate things can be the subject of discussion. The memories were composed differently, though. They are literary in form, and it is clear that the desire for generalization here is much greater than in diaries. And diaries are a naked, confessional thing, which is what the genre suggests.