At the start of 2018, a Swiss Arminio Sciolli decided to donate part of his Russian diaspora literature collection to the National Library of Lithuania. The collection consists of rare books, not yet seen in Lithuania. The geography of the collection covers a wide range of places – from South Africa to China – where Russian diaspora communities lived at the beginning of the twentieth century.
On September 21, 2018, the Library invited to the exhibition “Russian Diaspora Literature” opening and discussion about Russian diaspora publications and publishers. Dr. Pavel Lavrinec, Vilnius University professor, provided a broader context and a general overview of the exhibition. Prof. Tomas Venclova, Yale University emeritus and professor of Slavic literature, talked about the history of Russian diaspora in Harbin, China, its cultural life and his impressions from recent trip there.
Arminio Sciolli, residing in Switzerland, decided to donate his collection of Russian exodus literature to the National Library of Lithuania. The collection consists of rare books new not only to the National Library of Lithuania but Lithuania in general. The geography of the collection covers a wide range of places – from South Africa to China – where Russian communities lived at the beginning of the 20th century. The new donation will significantly broaden the knowledge about the publishing in diaspora and open new horizons in researching the cultural history of multiethnic and multicultural Lithuania.