Iš Permės archyvo apie K. Būgą

IŠ LIETUVIŲ KALBOTYROS ISTORIJOS LIETUVIŲ KALBOTYROS KLAUSIMAI XX (1980) V. BALAŠIS FROM THE PERM ARCHIVE: ABOUT K. BŪGA K. Būga began working at Perm University on the very day it was founded. Relatively little is known about K. Būga’s work at this university. One or two documents concerning the famous Lithuanian linguist, found in the Perm State Archive in 1978, may add somewhat to our knowledge of this period of his biography.1 The idea of establishing a university in Perm arose as early as the end of the 19th century. The First World War gave a concrete impetus to its implementation. In 1916, the need arose to evacuate Tartu University. The Perm city authorities agreed to receive it; however, once the Riga front had stabilized, there was no need to evacuate the university, but the idea of establishing a university in Perm remained relevant. On July 12, 1916, the Council of Ministers decided to establish a university here on the basis of the Imperial Petrograd University. On October 1, 1916, the Perm branch of Petrograd University opened. Its staff was assembled from higher education institutions in Moscow, Tartu, Kazan, and Novorossiysk, but its core consisted of professors from Petrograd University. The university’s privat-docent K. Būga was among those assigned there. At first, Perm University had only four faculties: History and Philology, Physics and Mathematics, Medicine, and Law. From the very first day, K. Būga worked in the Department of Comparative Linguistics at the Faculty of History and Philology. At that time, nine philologists worked at the faculty. As noted in an article commemorating the faculty’s 50th anniversary2, distinguished scholars later emerged from their ranks: L. Bulakhovsky, S. Obnorsky, P. Bogoslovsky, and K. Būga. K. Būga’s work at Perm University was successful. He continued collecting material for a Lithuanian-language dictionary; it is thought that he wrote corrections and additions to A. Preobrazhensky’s etymological dictionary of the Russian language; he investigated phonetic laws affecting word endings in Lithuanian dialects; began work on the disappearance of language elements that had lost their morphological meaning; and wrote the article “Baltica in G. A. Ilinsky’s ‘Old Slavic Grammar.’” As can be seen from the report on work at the university in 1918–1919, K. Būga also collected material for an etymological dictionary of the Baltic languages and studied the influence of Slavic-language vocabulary on the Baltic languages3. At Perm University, K. Būga taught Old Church Slavonic, Lithuanian, an introduction to linguistics for historians, and comparative Indo-European phonetics; he led a proseminar in introductory linguistics and taught a practical course in Sanskrit and classes in etymology. 1The author of this publication is grateful to M. A. Kipriyanova, head of the Perm State Archive, who helped locate these documents and permitted their use. 2 Генкель М. А. и др. Основные научные направления филологического факультета с 1916 по 1966 год. — Ученые записки. Языкознание. Пермь, 1966, № 162. 3 Zinkevičius Z., Kabelka J. Kazimieras Būga. — Kn.: Būga K. Rinktiniai raštai. V., 1958, t. 1, p. 47—48. 47 Although the library did its best to provide students with the necessary literature, conditions for normal work were nevertheless lacking. This is evident from K. Būga’s report and the historical overview of Perm University4. So far, it has not been possible to find out when K. Būga began serving as an extraordinary professor. At a meeting of the Faculty of History and Philology5 held on October 27, 1916, where A. Voldemaras’s question about his employment as a lecturer paid by the hour was considered, K. Būga was still serving as a professor. But by February 20, 1917, the university personnel list6 had the following entry under “degree and position”: “serving as an extraordinary professor in the department of comparative linguistics.” The Small Lithuanian Soviet Encyclopedia (I, p. 277) states that K. Būga was awarded the title of extraordinary professor in the spring of 1918. It may be added that in the lists for 1918 and January 1, 1919, K. Būga’s surname is written “Bugas (Buga).” The list dated January 1, 1919, also gives K. Būga’s address in Perm: Zaimka, Meshkov’s house, apartment 147. This is the central building of present-day Perm University, built by the merchant Meshkov and handed over to the university in 1916. The last mention of K. Būga’s name that could be traced appears in the minutes of the April 4, 1919, meeting of the Faculty of History and Philology. At that meeting, the secretary of the faculty council was elected. J. Verkhovsky was elected secretary with seven votes, while K. Būga and L. Bulakhovsky each received one vote8. In the summer of 1919, Perm University was evacuated to Tomsk. Only one professor remained in Perm from among the academic staff9. In 1920, the university was returned to Perm. That same year, K. Būga returned to Lithuania from Tomsk. [K. Būga’s report on his work at Perm University in 1918–191910] Acting extraordinary professor K. K. Buga taught the following courses in the 1918–1919 academic year: 1) Old Church Slavonic (both semesters; 3 hours per week), 2) Lithuanian (fall semester; 3 hours per week), 3) Introduction to Linguistics for Historians (spring semester; 2 hours per week). 4) Comparative Phonetics of the Indo-European Languages (spring semester; 3 hours per week), 5) Proseminar in Introduction to Linguistics for students who had completed the Introduction to Linguistics course (fall semester; 2 hours per week), 6) Practical Sanskrit classes (fall semester; 1 hour per week), 4 Пермский государственный университет имени А. М. Горького. Исторический очерк. 1916—1966. Пермь, 1966. 5 Perm Regional State Archive (hereafter PRSA), fond 180, inventory 1, file 521. 6 PRSA, fond 180, inventory 1, file 1026. 7 Ibid., fol. 532. 8 Ibid. 9 Perm State University..., p. 21. 10 The report, written in K. Būga’s hand, is kept in the Perm Region State Archive (f. 180, a. 1, b. 531, p. 18). 48 7) etymological exercises (spring semester; 1 hour per week). Practical classes in Sanskrit (reading the first book of the Rigveda) were not held due to the absence of students. The hour allotted to etymological exercises was used for a course in the comparative phonetics of Indo-European languages, for which the three hours per week in the semester proved insufficient. L. K. Fioletova and D. V. Pokrovsky took an active part in the introductory seminar on linguistics. Two papers were read on the topic “the origin of the Slavic spirant x.” During the reporting year, only a negligible number of books (30 titles) entered the Linguistic Seminary, owing to the disruption of the domestic book market and the lack of communication with foreign countries. Regular studies of linguistic subjects were out of the question, since the Seminary lacked most of the essential aids (dictionaries, grammars, texts, and reference books). During the reporting year, I continued collecting materials for an etymological dictionary of the Baltic languages. The study of the lexical influence of the Slavic languages on the Baltic languages advanced considerably.