Akim Lvovich Volynsky (Аким Львович Волынский, real name Khaim Leybovich Flekser, Хаим Лейбович Флексер; 3 May 1861 – 6 July 1926) was a Russian literary (later

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

and

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

) critic and historian, one of the early ideologists of the Russian Modernism.

Early life

Born into a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family, his identity would play a role in his future artistic endeavors.

Career

Volynsky came to prominence in 1890—1895 with a series of essays published by ''

Severny Vestnik ''Severny Vestnik'' (russian: Се́верный ве́стник, en, The Northern Messenger) was an influential Russian literary magazine founded in Saint Petersburg in 1885 by Anna Yevreinova, who stayed with it until 1889. History In the e ...

'' of which he later became the co-editor. His 1896 book ''Russian Critics'' which targeted figures like

Nikolai Chernyshevsky Nikolay Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky ( – ) was a Russian literary and social critic, journalist, novelist, democrat, and socialist philosopher, often identified as a utopian socialist and leading theoretician of Russian nihilism. He was ...

and

Nikolai Dobrolyubov Nikolay Alexandrovich Dobrolyubov ( rus, Никола́й Алекса́ндрович Добролю́бов, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ dəbrɐˈlʲubəf, a=Nikolay Alyeksandrovich Dobrolyubov.ru.vorb.oga; 5 February Old_Style_a ...

, later in its turn evoked

Georgy Plekhanov Georgi Valentinovich Plekhanov (; rus, Гео́ргий Валенти́нович Плеха́нов, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj vəlʲɪnˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ plʲɪˈxanəf, a=Ru-Georgi Plekhanov-JermyRei.ogg; – 30 May 1918) was a Russian revoluti ...

's scathing criticism. It was followed by another seminal compilation, ''Fighting for Idealism'' (Борьба за идеализм, 1900). Among Akim Volynsky's notable books were ''Leonardo da Vinchi'' (1900) and ''F.M. Dostoyevsky'' (1906); the former drew accusations of plagiarism, as Volynsky the editor has apparently used in it the materials collected by

Dmitry Merezhkovsky Dmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky ( rus, Дми́трий Серге́евич Мережко́вский, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪrʲɪˈʂkofskʲɪj; – December 9, 1941) was a Russian novelist, poet, religious thinker, ...

.Zobnin, Yuri. The Life and Deeds of Dmitry Merezhkovsky. Moscow. — Molodaya Gvardiya. 2008. Lives of Distinguished People series, issue 1091. pp.400–404 After the

1917 Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of governm ...

Volynsky stayed in the

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

. In 1920-1924 he was a chairman of the Leningrad section of the Writers' Union and for a while headed the Leningrad School of Choreography. His treatise ''Book of Joys. The Alphabet of the Classic Dance'' came out in 1925.Kotelnikov, V.A. Akim Volynsky, the Militant Idealist // Котельников В. А. Воинствующий идеалист Аким Волынский // Русская литература. 2006. № 1. / Pp. 20-75.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Volynsky, Akim Russian Jews Russian critics Russian editors Writers from Zhytomyr People from Kiev Governorate 1861 births 1926 deaths