Zara Grigoryevna Mints (; July 24, 1927 – October 25, 1990) was a Slavic literary scientist active in the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.

. She was the wife of

Juri Lotman Juri Lotman (; 28 February 1922 – 28 October 1993) was a prominent Russian-Estonian literary scholar, semiotician, and historian of Russian culture, who worked at the University of Tartu. He was elected a member of the British Academy (1977), ...

. Mints was born in

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

, but the family soon moved to

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. Her mother Frida Abramovna Sinderikhina (1889?–1939) was a stomatologist, father Girsh Yefremovich Mints was an administrator of

Volgograd Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...

Sanitary Inspection facility. She went to high school 1935–1941 in Leningrad, was evacuated to

Yaroslavl Oblast Yaroslavl Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), which is located in the Central Federal District, surrounded by the Tver Oblast, Tver, Moscow Oblast, Moscow, Ivanovo Oblast, Ivanovo, Vladimir Oblast, Vlad ...

and later to

Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk; , is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, seventh-largest city in Russia, with a population ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. She entered

Leningrad University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public university, public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the uni ...

in 1944. Already during her student years, she began to specialize in

Aleksandr Blok Alexander Alexandrovich Blok ( rus, Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Бло́к, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ ˈblok, a=Ru-Alyeksandr Alyeksandrovich Blok.oga; 7 August 1921) was a Russian lyrical poet, writer, publ ...

's works. Although she graduated ''cum laude'', she couldn't start the postgraduate studies due to the anti-semitic campaign of the late 1940s and the beginning of the 1950s. Initially working as a Russian teacher, she went to Tartu with her husband (they had married in 1951), where she could start her career as a university lecturer. From 1955, she worked at the department of

Russian literature Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia, its Russian diaspora, émigrés, and to Russian language, Russian-language literature. Major contributors to Russian literature, as well as English for instance, are authors of different e ...

. Mints became a professor in 1979. On 21 November 1972 she defended her

Doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

's thesis (''Aleksandr Blok i russkaja realisticheskaja literatura XIX veka'' – ''Aleksandr Blok and Russian Realist Literature of the 19th Century''), but the All-Union Higher Assessment Commission did not give her the degree until five years later. Mints' courses chiefly covered the Russian literature of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century (Dostoyevsky, Chekhov, Blok, e.g. connections between Blok's works and the general cultorological questions). Yuri Lotman and Zara Minc grave

Mints took actively part in collecting Blok's literary heritage and publishing the monograph ''Aleksandr Blok: Novye materialy i issledovanija'' – ''A.B.: New Materials and studies'', 5 Volumes, Moscow 1980–1987. In the late 1980s, Mints's health deteriorated sharply. In 1990, she underwent an operation in Bergamo, Italy that caused an unexpected complication, due to which she died. She was buried in Tartu at the Raadi cemetery.

Bibliography

* Лавров А. В. Александр Блок в трудах и днях З. Г. Минц // Минц З. Г. Блок и русский символизм: избранные труды: в трех книгах. �. 2 Александр Блок и русские писатели. Санкт-Петербург, 2000. С. 7–20.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mints, Zara 1927 births 1990 deaths Soviet philologists Russian women philologists Russian women linguists Soviet Jews People from Pskov Writers from Saint Petersburg Academic staff of the University of Tartu Burials at Raadi cemetery

See also

Bibliography

References