Гаппо Баев и осетинско-русско-немецкий словарь академика Всеволода Федоровича Миллера

T he present article explores a significant stage in the publication history of the OssetianRussian-German dictionary, a landmark lexicographical work on the Ossetian language compiled by Academician Vsevolod Fedorovich Miller. Special emphasis is placed on the role of Ossetian public figure and émigré Georgy (Gappo) Vasilievich Baev, who was actively engaged in the preliminary work on the dictionary during Miller’s lifetime and later sought to arrange its publication at Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Gutnov’s Ossetian printing house in Berlin. A key source for this study is the preserved correspondence between Baev and the Academician’s widow, Evgeniya Viktorovna Miller, which illuminates the stringent conditions imposed by the USSR Academy of Sciences: the retention of all rights by the Academy, a prohibition of any editorial modifications without its explicit approval, and the requirement that only a copy of the manuscript be submitted to the printing house. These conditions proved unacceptable to Baev and ultimately led to the failure of the Berlin publishing initiative. The aforementioned correspondence, along with related documents from the 1920s, is published in the appendix based on materials from Baev’s personal archive, held at the Berlin State Library. The texts presented contribute to a deeper understanding of the complex and little-known episode in the history of the Ossetian-Russian-German dictionary, which remained unpublished for many years in the Asiatic Museum. They also support the hypothesis that it was Baev’s initiative that rekindled scholarly interest in the dictionary within the USSR, which resulted in its eventual publication under the editorship of Academician Aleksandr Arnoldovich Freiman. By examining the history of the dictionary through the lens of personal correspondence, the article highlights the significant role played by the Ossetian diaspora and G. Baev himself in preserving and promoting national cultural heritage, despite the challenging conditions of political emigration and institutional constraints.