Holodomor Digital Collections

Photo Display Board: “The Family of an Idealist”

Description
Creator
Bokan, Nikolai, 1881-1942, Photographer
Media Type
Image
Text
Item Type
Photographs
Description
A photo display board created by Nikolai Bokan in November 1936. The display board features portraits and brief descriptions about each of his seven children.

Among the photographs is a portrait of Konstantin Bokan. Konstantin died of starvation in June 1933. In the few months prior to his death, he had been working on a collective farm where he was overworked and poorly fed. He had left his family home earlier in the spring of 1933, as his parents were struggling to provide for their large family during the famine. It is unclear whether Konstantin was asked to leave or whether he left of his own accord. Konstantin would have been around twenty-two years old at the time of his departure from the family home.

Also featured is a photograph of Nikolai Bokan standing at Konstantin’s grave. In the text beneath the photos, Bokan states that Konstantin’s supervisor on the collective farm suggested that Konstantin suppress his hunger by smoking cigarettes. Bokan claims that this advice led to poisoning that contributed to Konstantin’s death.

The board also documents how Bokan’s son Vladimir was urged to leave the family home for a separate residence in 1932. Vladimir was twenty-five years old at the time of his departure.

In addition to the children's portraits, the board features photographs that capture the consequences of their acts of defiance against their father (see "Inscription Details" for more information). Their rebellions were often prompted by Nikolai's insistence that they embrace Christianity and a Christian lifestyle.

Nikolai Bokan was an adherent of the Tolstoyan movement. The movement was based on the philosophical and religious writings of Leo Tolstoy, whose views were formed by the study of the ministry of Jesus. The movement promoted values of non-militarism, vegetarianism, and moral improvement, and aspired for the attainment of a rural, self-sufficient livelihood.
Among Nikolai's children, only Boris appears to have briefly engaged with Tolstoyan philosophies.

These dynamics within the Bokan family occurred amid widespread anti-religious sentiment propagated by Soviet authorities beginning in the late 1920s as a means of disseminating atheism and promoting loyalty to the state. These anti-religious campaigns coincided with the beginning of the forced mass collectivization of agriculture.
Inscriptions
A transcription of the Russian text and English translation are available in the "Inscription Details" document on the right-hand side of the screen.
Date of Publication
Nov 1936
Image Dimensions
Image Width: 22cm
Image Height: 16.5cm
Personal Name(s)
Nikolai Bokan ; Vasilina Bokan ; Nikolai Bokan (Jr) ; Vladimir Bokan ; Boris Bokan ; Konstantin Bokan ; Anna Bokan ; Lev-Leonid Bokan ; Alexandr Bokan
Local identifier
PD402
Collection
Mykola Bokan
Language of Item
Russian
Geographic Coverage
  • Chernihiv, Ukraine
    Latitude: 51.34567 Longitude: 32.87794
Copyright Statement
Copyright status unknown. Responsibility for determining the copyright status and any use rests exclusively with the user.
Location of Original
State Archive of the Security Service of Ukraine: https://ssu.gov.ua/ua/pages/98
Terms of Use
Any reproductions of images from the Archive of the Security Service of Ukraine must include the following reference: Archive of the Security Service of Ukraine, fonds 6, case № 75489-fp, volume 2.

Iнформуємо, що при публікації документів ГДА СБУ обов'язкове посилання на місце їх зберігання за зразком: ГДА СБ України, фонд 6, справа 75489-фп, том 2.
Reproduction Notes
Reproduced with the permission of the State Archive of the Security Service of Ukraine.
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