And they are not buried in Ste-Genevieve-des-Bois in the sections that are the most elegant, where repose "les grands notables" but in a rather far more ordinary, almost "banal" part of the cemetery.
I should think they were fortunate to be buried in a marked grave at all, however "banal" or "ordinary" you describe it, AlexP. May I say that I
almost regretted my comment to you yesterday until I read this statement from you in response.
Considering the precariousness of existence for most Russian expatriates after the Revolution--whether in Berlin, Paris, or Harbin--is it really necessary for you to impart such a judgmental tone over which particular arrondissement one lived in, considering nearly 80 years have passed since the Revolution? Much less in which cemetary they are buried?
As I am sure you are perfectly aware, most Russian expats in Paris lived around the rue Vaugirard, the rue Daru, the rue Pierre le Grand, and the rue Neva. While the 15e and 17e arrondissments may not have the "prime"
quartiers as those that can be found in the more central arrodissements, they were and are lovely in and of themselves. What constitutes a 'correct' is really entirely subjective, according to the opinion of those living there, as I am sure you'd agree. What is is correct for certain old-money Parisians (Ile St Louis, for example) is not necessarily 'correct' for the literary crowd. Would the 7e been better for the Yussupovs than the 6e, in your opinion?
You hinted in other parts of the forum that your family fled from Russia after the Revolution. Did you family live in the "correct" district of whatever new city to which they emigrated?
Most Russian expats all worked very hard to recreate traditional cultural lifestyles and did much less to assimilate into their new home countries, sometimes to their detriment. They created microcosms of their old lifestyles--schools, businesses, restaurants, shops, clubs. All this is very understandable and human, mind you, as people naturally will try to create sense and structure out of a world that seems chaotic. Perhaps an unwillingness to come to grips with reality, or obsessions with appearances, is why so many of the emigres simply could not make a successful transition?
And as far your insistence on peppering your posts with French words and bon mots, whether you are attempting to drive home the point that you speak multiple languages (laudable indeed), or trying to appear superior, je ne suis pas impressionné. As the French say.
