Poet and memoirist of the revolutionary literary world
The pen name of Mikhail Kovalyov, a poet, novelist, translator and memoirist. He served as Lunacharsky’s secretary after the 1917 revolution and associated with Yesenin and the Imaginists. Named alongside Kuzmin during the 1933 investigation of homosexual men, he was not arrested.
Also known as: Mikhail Kovalyov · Mikhail Kovalev
Activities and affiliations
- 1909–1981
Career Timeline
- 1917Lunacharsky’s secretary and the Imaginists
- 1933Named in the investigation of 1933
Related historical events
Lunacharsky’s secretary and the Imaginists
Publishing poetry from 1909, Ivnev welcomed the revolution and worked as Anatoly Lunacharsky’s secretary. He associated with Yesenin and the Imaginists and wrote novels, memoirs and translations. His birth name was Mikhail Aleksandrovich Kovalyov.
He moved to Leningrad in 1930 and to Tiflis in 1934, and translated poetry and epic literature from several Caucasian cultures.
Named in the investigation of 1933
In the Leningrad files examined by Roldugina, Ivnev was identified as homosexual alongside Mikhail Kuzmin. Neither was arrested, and Ivnev lived until 1981. Being named in an interrogation record must therefore be distinguished from actual arrest or conviction.