“Fictional, but Truthful.” Nicolas Belina-Podgaetsky, a Soviet Journalist at the Service of Catholic Anti-Communism

Nicolas Belina-Podgaetsky (1896-1967) was the most prolific Russian émigré author in Belgium between the late 1930s and early 1950s. His memoirs, as well as numerous children books on the plight of Christians under Soviet rule apparently met the criteria for good Catholic, anti-communist literature and were published by Durendal, Casterman and Bonne Presse/Goede Pers (Averbode). As a typical convert, however, the former Soviet journalist Belina-Podgaetsky tried to emulate his new masters’ views and in doing so overstepped the mark. His autobiography was meticulously edited to obscure his Soviet (and atheist) past, while his fictional work contained so many ‘verifiable’ facts, that they became ‘True’ in a metaphysical and ideological sense. Notwithstanding the huge circulation and publicity his work never gained him the literary fame he craved. And despite his Russian and anti-communist profile, the Russian émigrés in Belgium never accepted him as one of their own. This article wants to explore how the life and work of a minor author as Belina-Podgaetsky’s not only reflected Catholic anti-communism in Belgium during that era, but also contributed to its creation.status: publishe