VN's uncle Konstantin Dmitrievich Nabokov (1872-1927), who
shared with Kinbote his sexual orientation and who is known to the readers
of Speak, Memory (pp. 49, 224) as the author of
Ispytaniya diplomata ("The Ordeals of a Diplomat," Stockholm, 1921) and
an English version of Pushkin's Boris Godunov, turns out to be a
character in A. N. Tolstoy's novel Emigranty ("The Émigrés," 1931). The novel is
set in Paris and Stockholm (with several scenes set in Petrograd and
Reval). The time is 1919-20. The Russian "crown jewels" are mentioned several
times: "Борис и Кирилл Владимировичи должны получить от
матери знаменитые изумруды [emeralds], у них будет на
что содержать двор." (ch. 9) "Нам совершенно
известно, что в Стокгольм привезены из Петрограда личные драгоценности семьи
Романовых - императорская корона, держава и скипетр, осыпанные бриллиантами
мирового значения, шапка Мономаха, бриллиант "граф Орлов" в четыреста каратов,
несколько десятков пудов жемчуга и горностаевая мантия..." (ch. 36). A.
V. Amfiteatrov (cf. Pale Fire's Amphiteatricus) is also mentioned
in Tolstoy's novel.
Earlier Victor Fet pointed out that Alexey Gusev (a
namesake of Colonel Peter Gusev, King Alfin 'aerial adjutant') was a character
in A. N. Tolstoy's sci-fi novel Aelita (1923), the 'space adjutant' of
the engineer Mstislav Los'. Incidentally, Aelita (the name of the heroine)
translates from Martian "starlight seen for the last time." The name
Mstislav reminds one of Vseslav Botkin (Kinbote's real name).
Alexey Sklyarenko