“It Will Be a Very Kind Thing on Your Part”. A Letter from Stepan Ivanovich Romanovsky to Ivan Diomidovich Popko

Abstract. Ivan Diomidovich Popko in Russia in general and in the Caucasus in particular is known mainly as a historian, educator, ethnographer, writer and poet, bibliophile and experienced administrator — adjutant of the ataman of the Black Sea Cossack army, head of the Kars sanjak and pashalyk of the same name, etc. So He is widely known as the author of historical articles and works on the history of the Caucasian Cossacks. Much less known are the facts of his personal life, relationships with loved ones and friends. Very little or no information is known about his childhood and youth; they have to be reconstructed bit by bit. The article examines and analyzes a letter from Stepan Ivanovich Romanovsky to his childhood friend, Ivan Diomidovich Popko, in the context of the history of everyday life and personal relationships between two representatives of the intelligentsia of the South of Russia in the 19th century. This document is interesting primarily because it contains some information about their childhood years.

Keywords: I.D. Popko, Caucasus, personal correspondence, S.I. Romanovsky, old friendship, Black Sea Cossack army.