Xenia Vasilievna Denikina (russian: Ксе́ния Васи́льевна Дени́кина, link=, Chizh, Чиж; 2 April O.S. 21 March">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 21 March1892 – 3 March 1973) was a Russian writer. From 1918 until his death in 1947, she was married to

Anton Denikin Anton Ivanovich Denikin (russian: Анто́н Ива́нович Дени́кин, link= ; 16 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._4_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New St ...

Early life

Xenia Chizh (sometimes transcribed ''Tchije'') was born in Biała Podlaska, then part of Congress Poland in the Russian Empire. Her father was Vassili Ivanovitch Chizn, an artillery officer and local official, and her mother was Elisaveta Alexandrovna Toumskaya. She graduated from the Institute for Young Ladies in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, and was training to be a teacher when she started a relationship with

Career

Denikina and her family went into exile in 1920, living eventually in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, where she helped her husband write his memoirs. The couple took refuge in

Mimizan Mimizan (; oc, Mamisan) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in south-western France. There are two separate districts of the town: Mimizan-Bourg (town center) and Mimizan-Plage (resort). Geography Mimizan is a seaside ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and she was briefly arrested and imprisoned by the Germans. She acted as an interpreter between the German occupiers and the Russian, Polish, and Ukrainian exiles there. Denikina kept a hidden journal from 1940 to 1945, totalling 28 school notebooks by the end. The Denikins moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

after the war. Her husband died in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...

in 1947. Denikina was chair of the Russian Institutes Alumnae Association when it was founded in 1954. She assisted Russian history scholars, organized her husband's papers, and hosted cultural events for the

Russian émigré Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

community in New York.

Personal life and legacy

Xenia Chizh married a

White Army The White Army (russian: Белая армия, Belaya armiya) or White Guard (russian: Бѣлая гвардія/Белая гвардия, Belaya gvardiya, label=none), also referred to as the Whites or White Guardsmen (russian: Бѣлогв� ...

general, Anton Denikin, in 1918. They had a daughter,

Marina Denikina Marina Antonovna Denikina (russian: Марина Антоновна Деникина, pen name: Marina Grey) (20 February 1919 – 16 November 2005) was a Russian-born French writer and journalist. Biography Denikina was born in Ekaterinodar (Rus ...

, born in 1919. Xenia Denikina became an

American citizen Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

in 1951, returned to

in 1971, and died at

Louviers Louviers () is a Communes of France, commune in the Eure Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in north-western France. Louviers is from Paris and from Rouen. Population History Prehistory In the ...

in 1973, aged 80 years. Her daughter translated Denikina's wartime journal into

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and published it in 1976, as ''Mimizan-sur-Guerre, Le Journal de ma mère sous l'Occupation''. It was called "a unique portrait of ''émigré'' fortunes at their lowest ebb". Her remains and those of her husband were reinterred at

Donskoy Monastery Donskoy Monastery (russian: Донско́й монасты́рь) is a major monastery in Moscow, founded in 1591 in commemoration of Moscow's deliverance from the threat of an invasion by the Crimean Khan (title), Khan Ğazı II Giray, Kazy-G ...

in Moscow in 2005, just before Marina's death that year. Her papers, and her husband's, are in the Bakhmeteff Archive of Russian and East European Culture at

Columbia University Libraries Columbia University Libraries is the library system of Columbia University and one of the largest academic library systems in North America. With 15.0 million volumes and over 160,000 journals and serials, as well as extensive electronic resources ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Denikina, Xenia 1892 births 1973 deaths Russian women writers People from Biała Podlaska Polish emigrants to France French emigrants to the United States