“I am Ready to Give You Satisfaction with the Weapon…”. A Failed Duel between the Famous Writer A.I. Kuprin and the Son of General V.N. Klembovsky in 1920: an Experience of a Micro-Historical Investigation

Abstract. The article discusses the story of the failed duel between the son of General V.N. Klembovsky and the famous writer A.I. Kuprin. In response to the Special Council appeal under the chief of all the armed forces to former officers to join the Red Army in order of repelling the Polish attack in 1920 A.I. Kuprin has released an angry article. In this article he sharply responded about the signers of the appeal – the old generals. Among them was V.N. Klembovsky. A white officer, Klembovsky’s son, despite the obvious ideological differences with his father, caused Kuprin to a duel. The writer had declined the action. This episode has become a striking feature of division in the officer corpus, who being on different sides of the barricades had not lost the priority in perception of kinship and other ties, established before the Civil war.

Keywords: A.I. Kuprin, V.N. Klembovsky, Russian officer corps, a Special Council under the commander-in-chief, the Civil war.