Лу Саломе - страница 3

Für das Schreiben des Buches war ein enormes Studium der vielfältigsten Quellen in verschiedenen Sprachen notwendig. Er hat es gemacht!

Aber die Hauptsache ist, dass Leonid Niessmann mit diesem Buch Lou Salomé dem russischen Leser «zurückgegeben hat». Sie war im ganzen westlichen Europa bekannt, aber in Russland, ihrer Heimat, tatsächlich unbekannt. Das Buch Leonid Niessmanns wird helfen, dieses Unrecht zu beheben.

Dafür gebührt ihm Dank!

The author of the book «Lou Salome» Leonid Niessmann is a man of varied attainments. On the one hand he is a prominent scholar, engineer, Doctor of Technical Science, Professor. On the other hand, he is the author of poems, prose, patters, brochures and books. What is he in fact? How did it all start and where did it all come from?

Count Pyotr Petrovich Sheremetyev, Chairman of the Presidium of International Council of Russian Сompatriots, wrote about him the following: «Leonid Niessmann is one of the "children of the Arbat", a man of letters in his heart, who grew up in a theatrical atmosphere and has retained wide friendly connections in the artistic environment. Leonid is a "digithead" (Doctor of Technical Science) and a high school teacher, always hunting for and finding everything for himself – friends, great and small goals, points of application for his many-sided abilities. He gives us a vivid picture of life of one of us either through his creativity, his life journey, his experience or just in one or two phrases, by means of an accurate image or observation».

Strictly speaking, Leonid Niessmann does not belong to the «children of the Arbat», but to the wonderful cohort of «children of the Vakhtangov street». He lived in this street in his childhood and youth.

What a wonderful street! At that point in time it was located between the Arbat and the Dog Playground. Back then the most famous house in this street was, and still is, «Shchuka» – Theater School named after Boris Vasilyevich Shchukin. Besides, in the same house, but in its other wing, there lived a lot of actors, mainly from the Vakhtangov theater. Opposite «Shchuka» there was (and still is) a two-storey house, in which once lived Fyodor Shalyapin. Of course, he occupied the whole house. Then, after Shalyapin, when the house was divided into «common» apartments, Leonid Niessmann’s family used to live in one of them. Today Stage Directing Faculty of Shchukin Art School is located in this house – the one, which back in the old days I graduated from.

Leonid was a sociable boy and very quickly became friends with his peers, children of the actors who lived nearby. In his school years his friends were Misha Derzhavin, Shura Shirvindt, Slava Shalevitch, Mitya Dorliak, Natasha Zhuravleva. He shared the same apartment with the real beauty Valya Malyavina. In the course of time, they all became very famous actors.

Leonid studied in one of the Arbat schools and graduated with the gold medal. At first he wanted to go to «Shchuka», but life made some adjustments, and he, not without difficulty, entered one of the technical Universities of Moscow and graduated with honors. While studying at the University he actively participated in amateur performances, wrote lyrics for the student parties and «wits and humour» competitions.