This project has been assisted by support from a number of foundations and individuals. A Mellon Grant through the Russian and East European Institute of Indiana University paid Michael Levine for his collaboration in the translation. During 1989-1990, when I received funding from the Guggenheim Foundation, the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), and a Fulbright-Hays fellowship, I was able to devote a portion of my time to this project, in particular the work in Russian archives. I am grateful to the donors and staffs of these funding agencies for their generous support.
Several individuals contributed important advice. Professors Nadya Peterson of the University of Pennsylvania, Nina Perlina of Indiana University, and Yelena Stepanova of Yekaterinburg Technical University helped me understand some difficult phrases in-Russian, especially in the expressions of the peasants. Professor Linda Ivanits of Pennsylvania State University advised on some of the folkloric terms; Olga Melnikova, a curator in the Kremlin museum, provided crucial information on the Semyonov Tian-Shanskii family from archives that I was unable to consult (I acknowledge her help again in the specific footnote references that she gave me). Materials from the Academy of Sciences Archive in St. Petersburg came to me through the mediation of Aleksandr Isupov, an advanced graduate student at St. Petersburg University. Professor Janet Kennedy and Mr. Eli Weinerman, both at Indiana University, helped with references and advice on pictures. Special appreciation goes to T. M. Pankova of the Riazan Historical-Architectural Museum in the city of Riazan for selecting from the museum’s photo archive many of the pictures used in this book, and to Ben Eklof and Molly Pyle for facilitating their delivery. Professor Ellen Dwyer of Indiana University took a sharp editorial pen to the introduction, and Professor Steven L. Hoch of the University of Iowa offered a number of valuable suggestions for improvement of both the introduction and the translation. To all these people, and to my wife Terry for her patience and understanding, I am most thankful.