By Vestnik Kavkaza
Banin's memoir is a bright piece of the literary mosaic of the Parisian exile. The style of the memoir is similar to the books of the wife of Georgy Ivanov, Irina Odoetseva "On the banks of the Neva River" and "On the Banks of the Seine River." They both wrote about Parisian émigré circles and about their youth. The youth of Odoetseva took place on the Neva River, and the youth of Banin - on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Banin was friends with Teffi, she knew Remizov, Merezhkovsky, Gippius, Lossky and Berdyaev, Ivan Bunin was even in love with her. The most interesting part of her memoir is the description of her time spent in the Caucasus. An autobiographical book by Banin with the same title, published right after the Second World War, is imbued with satire and self-irony. It is a kind of encyclopedia of the life of residents of Baku, which became rich during the oil boom, very personal writing, showing a great understanding of what was happening by the author.
The population of Baku was mixed: there were Russians, Armenians, Georgians and Europeans. The population of the villages was exclusively Muslim. The bad command of Russian by the elders and the German language of Fraulein Anna created a strange linguistic confusion. Nevertheless, Umm el-Banu listened to tales in Azerbaijani. Many times she heard the fabulous love stories of Ahmed and Suraya, Mohammed and Leila. Beautiful legends about love always began with the words: "When there was no one else but God, there was once..."
The stories were usually told by professionals. "Her life was a continuation of Muslim history, which emerged with the birth of Islam. Hence, the age difference between us was calculated not by decades, but by fourteen centuries of Hijra," Banin wrote about her grandmother. The grandmother categorically rejected European culture, did not know the Russian language, and perceived Russians as invaders, destroyers of national traditions. Not only that her husband had left her for a Russian woman, but also her daughters, who had been brought up in Islamic traditions after they became married, ceased to wear the veil, dressed in European clothes and began to speak in a certain wild confusion of Azerbaijani and Russian. Her sons travelled around Europe and did not take religion very seriously. The opening of rich oil deposits accelerated the development and transformation of the Muslim society of the Caucasus. Oil stimulated refinement and progress, and everyone wanted to experience a "cultural life," to use every opportunity to do so.
The father of Umm el-Banu, Mirza Asadullayev, entrusted his daughters to Fraulein Anna and only rarely spent time with his family. He traveled frequently, was often away. Being the eldest son, he was in charge of the family business. He headed oil companies on the shores of the Caspian Sea and the Volga River and other branches of various companies in Moscow and Warsaw. Inspired by progress, the father wanted to further expand production and business activities. He especially liked Berlin. On the eve of the First World War Azerbaijan was very interested in Germany. Cars, servants, employees, pianos and even the fashion for moustaches "a la William" were brought to Baku from Germany. Banin's father, when returning from a trip to Germany, always brought with him numerous gifts and a curled moustache. At the time, Wilhelm II declared himself the protector of the Turks and Muslims. The Azeris, similar to the Turks, had great sympathy for the Germans. It was mutual.
The uncles of Banin, full of envy for her father, called him a thief, a crook and a scoundrel. Many years passed in years-long litigations. Mirza Asadullayev was not only rich, but also young and handsome. There were a great number of women who wanted to become his lovers or wives. He had numerous affairs but was not in a hurry to get married, while his relatives perceived his bachelor lifestyle as something much less becoming than even polygamy. Mirza was hoping to choose for himself a "cultural" life partner. But the women that he liked were not accepted by his grandmother. She called his European women "daughters of bitches" and thought that one should never marry infidels. Banin's grandmother had her own reasons for thinking this way, since her own husband left her to marry a Russian woman with a questionable past and a bad reputation.
Finally, Banin's father married an Ossetian, Amina (in other sources she has the name Tamara), the daughter of a railroad inspector. The first wife of the inspector, the mother of Amina, had been dead for some time when he married a Jewish woman. Banin's grandmother would say: "Well, Jews are a good, decent nation. In any case, they are much better than the "unchaste" Christians." It was later revealed that at the age of 20 Amin married a Volga Muslim, and divorced him six months later. Soon she met Mirza Asadullayev and arrived in Baku.
From the last trip to Paris, Amina brought a lot of musical recordings and books. Thus, Umm el-Banu learned about Ravel and Debussy, and became acquainted with the spirit of French literature and French culture. Marie Sarman from France began to teach Banin the language, and once she told her: "You will be famous!" A teacher from England, who taught the daughters of the millionaire the language of Shakespeare and English etiquette, was invited to teach Banin English, which she did not like.
At the request of Amina, Banin's father bought two "Mercedes-Benz" cars. Even thought it was not so difficult to purchase them it was very difficult to drive them: Baku was not a big city and there was no place to turn it around. Trips outside the city were rare and of little interest. Asadullaev's family went to see the Bibi Heybat oil fields. A landscape of deserted beaches, dotted with oil derricks, the sounds of waves and wind summoned up a melancholic mood.
To be continued
