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Dmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky ( rus, Дми́трий Серге́евич Мережко́вский, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪrʲɪˈʂkofskʲɪj; – December 9, 1941) was a
Russian 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 ...
novelist, poet, religious thinker, and literary critic. A seminal figure of the Silver Age of Russian Poetry, regarded as a co-founder of the
Symbolist movement Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and real ...
, Merezhkovsky – with his wife, the poet
Zinaida Gippius Zinaida Nikolayevna Gippius (Hippius) (; – 9 September 1945) was a Russian poet, playwright, novelist, editor and religious thinker, one of the major figures in Russian symbolism. The story of her marriage to Dmitry Merezhkovsky, which laste ...
– was twice forced into political
exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...
. During his second exile (1918–1941) he continued publishing successful novels and gained recognition as a critic of the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
. Known both as a self-styled religious
prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the ...
with his own slant on apocalyptic Christianity, and as the author of philosophical
historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...
s which combined fervent idealism with literary innovation, Merezhkovsky became a nine-time nominee for the
Nobel Prize in literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...
, which he came closest to winning in 1933. However, because he was close to the Nazis, he has been virtually forgotten after World War 2.


Biography

Dmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky was born on August 2, 1866, in
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, the sixth son in the family. His father Sergey Ivanovich Merezhkovsky served as a senior official in several Russian local governors' cabinets (including that of I.D.Talyzin in
Orenburg Orenburg (russian: Оренбу́рг, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Ural River, southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is also very close to the border with Kazakhst ...
) before entering Alexander II's court office as a
Privy Councillor A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...
.''Mihaylov, Oleg''. "The Prisoner of Culture". The Foreword to The Complete Work of D.S.Merezhkovsky in 4 volumes. 1990. Pravda Publishers. His mother Varvara Vasilyevna Merezhkovskaya (née Chesnokova) was a daughter of a senior Saint Petersburg security official. Fond of arts and literature, she was what Dmitry Merezhkovsky later remembered as the guiding light of his rather lonely childhood (despite the presence of five brothers and three sisters around). There were only three people Merezhkovsky had any affinity with in his whole lifetime, and his mother, a woman "of rare beauty and angelic nature" according to biographer Yuri Zobnin, was the first and the most important of them.''Zobnin, Yuri''. The Life and Deeds of Dmitry Merezhkovsky. 2008 // Moscow. — Molodaya Gvardiya Publishers. Lives of Distinguished People series, issue 1091. pp.15–16


Early years

Dmitry Merezhkovsky spent his early years on the Yelagin Island in Saint Petersburg, in a palace-like cottage which served as a summer
dacha A dacha ( rus, дача, p=ˈdatɕə, a=ru-dacha.ogg) is a seasonal or year-round second home, often located in the exurbs of post-Soviet countries, including Russia. A cottage (, ') or shack serving as a family's main or only home, or an outbu ...
for the family. In the city the family occupied an old house facing the Summer Gardens, near Prachechny Bridge. The Merezhkovskys also owned a large estate in
Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...
, by a road leading to the Uchan-Su waterfall. "Fabulous Oreanda palace, now in ruins, will stay with me forever. White marble pylons against the blue sea... for me it's a timeless symbol of
Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cu ...
," he wrote years later. Sergey Merezhkovsky, although a man of means, led an
ascetic Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...
life, keeping his household 'lean and thrifty'. He saw this also as 'moral prophylactics' for his children, regarding luxury-seeking and reckless spending as the two deadliest sins. The parents traveled a lot, and an old German housekeeper Amalia Khristianovna spent much time with the children, amusing them with Russian fairytales and Biblical stories. It was her recounting of saints' lives that helped Dmitry to develop fervent religious feelings in his early teens. In 1876 Dmitry Merezhkovsky joined an elite grammar school, the St. Petersburg Third Classic Gymnasium. Years spent there he described later by one word, "murderous", remembering just one teacher as a decent person – "Kessler the Latinist; well-meaning he surely never was, but at least had a kindly look." At thirteen Dmitry started writing poetry, rather in the vein of
Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
's "Bakhchisarai Fountain" as he later remembered. He became fascinated with the works of
Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...
to such an extent as to form a Molière Circle in the Gymnasium. The group had nothing political on its agenda, but still made the secret police interested. All of its members were summoned one by one to the Third Department's headquarters by the Politzeisky Bridge to be questioned. It is believed that only Sergey Merezhkovsky's efforts prevented his son from being expelled from the school.


Debut

Much as Dmitry disliked his tight upper-lipped, stone-faced father, later he had to give him credit for being the first one to have noticed and, in his emotionless way, appreciate his first poetic exercises. In July 1879, in
Alupka Alupka (Ukrainian and Russian: Алу́пка; crh, Alupka; gr, Ἀλώπηξ, Alòpex) is a resort city located in the Crimean peninsula, a territory of Ukraine currently annexed by Russian Federation (see 2014 Crimean crisis). It is located t ...
, Crimea, Sergey Ivanovich introduced Dmitry to the legendary Princess Yekaterina Vorontzova, once Pushkin's sweetheart. The grand dame admired the boy's verses: she (according to a biographer) "spotted in them a must-have poetic quality: the metaphysical sensitivity of a young soul" and encouraged him to soldier on. Somewhat different was young Merezhkovsky's encounter with another luminary, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, staged by his well-connected father again. As the boy started reciting his work, nervous to the point of stuttering, the famous novelist listened rather impatiently, then said: "Poor, very poor. To write well, one has to suffer. Suffer!" – "Oh no, I'd rather he won't – either suffer, or write well!", the appalled father exclaimed. The boy left Dostoyevsky's house much frustrated by the great man's verdict. Merezhkovsky's debut publication followed the same year: Saint Petersburg magazine '' Zhivopisnoye Obozrenye'' published two of his poems, "Little Cloud" and "The Autumn Melody". A year later another poem "Narcissus" was included in a charity compilation benefiting destitute students, edited by Pyotr Yakubovich. In Autumn 1882 Merezhkovsky attended one of the first of Semyon Nadson's public readings and, deeply impressed, wrote him a letter. Soon Nadson became Merezhkovsky's closest friend – in fact, the only one, apart from his mother. Later researchers suggested there was some mystery shared by the two young men, something to do with "fatal illness, fear of death and longing for faith as an antidote to such fear." Nadson died in 1887, Varvara Vasilyevna two years later; feeling that he's lost everything he'd ever had in this world, Merezhkovsky submerged into deep depression. In January 1883 ''
Otechestvennye Zapiski ''Otechestvennye Zapiski'' ( rus, Отечественные записки, p=ɐˈtʲetɕɪstvʲɪnːɨjɪ zɐˈpʲiskʲɪ, variously translated as "Annals of the Fatherland", "Patriotic Notes", "Notes of the Fatherland", etc.) was a Russian lite ...
'' published two more of Merezhkovsky's poems. "Sakya Muni", the best known of his earlier works, entered popular poetry recital compilations of the time and made the author almost famous. By 1896 Merezhkovsky was rated as "a well known poet" by the ''
Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary The ''Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopaedic Dictionary'' (Russian: Энциклопедический словарь Брокгауза и Ефрона, abbr. ЭСБЕ, tr. ; 35 volumes, small; 86 volumes, large) is a comprehensive multi-volume ...
''. Years later, having gained fame as a novelist, he felt embarrassed by his poetry and, while compiling his first ''Complete'' series in the late 1900s, cut the poetry section down to several pieces. Nevertheless, Merezhkovsky's poems remained popular, and some major Russian composers,
Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...
and
Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
among them, have set dozens of them to music.


University years

In 1884–1889 Merezhkovsky studied history and
philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as ...
at the
University of Saint Petersburg A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...
where his PhD was on
Montaigne Michel Eyquem, Sieur de Montaigne ( ; ; 28 February 1533 – 13 September 1592), also known as the Lord of Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. He is known for popularizing the essay as a lit ...
. He learned several foreign languages and developed strong interest in the
French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than F ...
, the philosophy of
positivism Positivism is an empiricist philosophical theory that holds that all genuine knowledge is either true by definition or positive—meaning ''a posteriori'' facts derived by reason and logic from sensory experience.John J. Macionis, Linda M. G ...
, theories of
John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...
and
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...
. Still, his student years were joyless. "University gave me no more than a Gymnasium did. I've never had proper – either family, or education," he wrote in his 1913 autobiography. The only lecturer he remembered fondly was the historian of literature Orest Miller, who held a domestic literature circle. In 1884 Merezhkovsky (along with Nadson) joined the Saint Petersburg's Literary Society, on
Aleksey Pleshcheyev Aleksey Nikolayevich Pleshcheyev (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Никола́евич Плеще́ев; 8 October 1893) was a radical Russian poet of the 19th century, once a member of the Petrashevsky Circle. Pleshcheyev's first book of ...
's recommendation. The latter introduced the young poet to the family of
Karl Davydov Karl Yulievich Davydov (russian: Карл Юльевич Давидов; ) was a Russian cellist of great renown during his time, and described by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as the "czar of cellists". He was also a composer, mainly for the cello. Hi ...
, head of the
Saint Petersburg Conservatory The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory (russian: Санкт-Петербургская государственная консерватория имени Н. А. Римского-Корсакова) (formerly known as th ...
. His wife Anna Arkadyevna became Merezhkovsky's publisher in the 1890s, their daughter Julia – his first (strong, even if fleeting) romantic interest. In Davydov's circle Merezhkovsky mixed with well-established literary figures of the time –
Ivan Goncharov Ivan Alexandrovich Goncharov (, also ; rus, Ива́н Алекса́ндрович Гончаро́в, r=Iván Aleksándrovich Goncharóv, p=ɪˈvan ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪdʑ ɡənʲtɕɪˈrof; – ) was a Russian novelist best known for his ...
,
Apollon Maykov Apollon Nikolayevich Maykov (russian: Аполло́н Никола́евич Ма́йков, , Moscow – , Saint Petersburg) was a Russian poet, best known for his lyric verse showcasing images of Russian villages, nature, and history. His love ...
,
Yakov Polonsky Yakov Petrovich Polonsky (russian: Яков Петрович Полонский; ) was a leading Pushkinist poet who tried to uphold the waning traditions of Russian Romantic poetry during the heyday of realistic prose. Of noble birth, Polonsky ...
, but also
Nikolay Mikhaylovsky Nikolay Konstantinovich Mikhaylovsky () (, Meshchovsk–, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian literary critic, sociologist, writer on public affairs, and one of the theoreticians of the Narodniki movement. Biography The school of thinkers he bel ...
and
Gleb Uspensky Gleb Ivanovich Uspensky ( rus, Глеб Иванович Успенский; October 25, 1843 April 6, 1902), was a Russian Empire writer, and a prominent figure of the Narodnik movement. Biography Early life Gleb Uspensky was born in Tula, the ...
, two prominent
narodnik The Narodniks (russian: народники, ) were a politically conscious movement of the Russian intelligentsia in the 1860s and 1870s, some of whom became involved in revolutionary agitation against tsarism. Their ideology, known as Narodism, ...
s whom he regarded later as his first real teachers. It was under the guidance of the latter that Merezhkovsky, while still a university student, embarked upon an extensive journey through the Russian provinces where he met many people, notably religious cults leaders. He stayed for some time in
Chudovo Chudovo (russian: Чудово) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities *Chudovo, Chudovsky District, Novgorod Oblast, a town of district significance in Chudovsky District of Novgorod Oblast ;Rural localities * ...
village where Uspensky lived, and both men spent many sleepless nights discussing things like "life's religious meaning," "a common man's cosmic vision" and "the power of the land." At the time he was seriously considering leaving the capital to settle down in some far-out country place and become a teacher. Another big influence was Mikhaylovsky, who introduced the young man to the staff of ''
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 ...
'', a literary magazine he founded with Davydova. Here Merezhkovsky met
Vladimir Korolenko Vladimir Galaktionovich Korolenko (russian: Влади́мир Галактио́нович Короле́нко, ua, Володи́мир Галактіо́нович Короле́нко; 27 July 1853 – 25 December 1921) was a Ukrainian-born ...
and
Vsevolod Garshin Vsevolod Mikhailovich Garshin (russian: Всеволод Михайлович Гаршин; 14 February 1855 — 5 April 1888) was a Russian author of short stories. Life Garshin was the son of an officer, from a family tracing its roots back ...
, and later Nikolai Minsky,
Konstantin Balmont Konstantin Dmitriyevich Balmont ( rus, Константи́н Дми́триевич Бальмо́нт, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin ˈdmʲitrʲɪjɪvʲɪdʑ bɐlʲˈmont, a=Konstantin Dmitriyevich Bal'mont.ru.vorb.oga; – 23 December 1942) was a Rus ...
and
Fyodor Sologub Fyodor Sologub (russian: Фёдор Сологу́б, born Fyodor Kuzmich Teternikov, russian: Фёдор Кузьми́ч Тете́рников, also known as Theodor Sologub; – 5 December 1927) was a Russian Symbolist poet, novelist, transl ...
: the future leaders of the Russian Symbolism movement. Merezhkovsky's first article for the magazine, "A Peasant in the French literature", upset his mentor: Mikhaylovsky spotted in his young protégé the "penchant for mysticism," something he himself was averse to. In the early 1888 Merezhkovsky graduated from the University and embarked upon a tour through southern Russia, starting in
Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
. In
Borjomi Borjomi ( ka, ბორჯომი) is a resort town in south-central Georgia, 160 km from Tbilisi, with a population of 11,122 (2021). It is one of the municipalities of the Samtskhe–Javakheti region and is situated in the northwestern ...
he met 19-year-old poet
Zinaida Gippius Zinaida Nikolayevna Gippius (Hippius) (; – 9 September 1945) was a Russian poet, playwright, novelist, editor and religious thinker, one of the major figures in Russian symbolism. The story of her marriage to Dmitry Merezhkovsky, which laste ...
. The two fell in love and on January 18, 1889, married in
Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...
, making arguably the most prolific and influential couple in the history of Russian literature. Soon husband and wife moved into their new Saint Petersburg house, Merezkovsky's mother's wedding present.


Late 1880s to early 1890s

Merezhkovsky's major literary debut came with the publication of ''Poems (1883–1888)''. It brought the author into the focus of the most favourable critical attention, but – even coupled with ''Protopop Avvacum'', a poetry epic released the same year, could not solve young family's financial problems. Helpfully, Gippius unexpectedly reinvented herself as a prolific fiction writer, starting to churn out novels and novelettes she couldn't later even remember the titles of. Sergey Merezhkovsky's occasional hand-outs also helped the husband and wife to keep their meagre budget afloat. Having by this time lost interest in poetry, Dmitry Merezhkovsky developed a strong affinity to
Greek drama Ancient Greek theatre was a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, was its centre, where the theatre was ...
and published translations of
Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Gree ...
,
Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...
and
Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...
in ''Vestnik Evropy''. These and some of his later translations from Ancient Greek (like prose version of ''Daphnis and Chloe'', 1896), almost unnoticed by the contemporary critics, later came to be regarded (according to biographer Yuri Zobnin) "the pride of the Russian school of classical translation." In the late 1880s Merezhkovsky debuted as a literary critic with an essay on
Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...
entitled "A Newly-born Talent Facing the Same Old Question" and published by ''Severny Vestnik''. Having spotted in his subject's prose "the seeds of irrational, alternative truth," Merezhkovsky inadvertently put an end to his friendship with Mikhaylovsky and amused Chekhov who, in his letter to Pleshcheev, mentioned the "disturbing lack of simplicity" as the article's major fault.Zobnin, p. 402 Merezhkovsky continued in the same vein and thus invented (in retrospect) the whole new genre of a philosophical essay as a form of critical thesis, something unheard of in Russian literature before. Merezhkovsky's biographical pieces on Pushkin, Dostoyevsky, Goncharov, Maykov, Korolenko,
Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...
, Calderon scandalized the contemporary literary establishment. Later, compiled in a volume called ''The Eternal Companions'', these essays were pronounced modern classics, their author praised as "the subtlest and the deepest of late XIX – early XX Russian literary critics" by literary historian Arkady Dolinin. ''The Eternal Companions'' became so revered a piece of literary art in the early 1910s that the volume was officially chosen as an honorary gift for excelling grammar school graduates. In May 1890
Liubov Gurevich Liubov Yakovlevna Gurevich (russian: Любо́вь Я́ковлевна Гуре́вич; November 1, 1866, Saint Petersburg – October 17, 1940, Moscow) was a Russian editor, translator, author, and critic. She has been described as "Russia's mo ...
, the new head of the revamped ''Severny Vestnik'', turned a former narodnik's safe haven into the exciting club for members of the rising experimental literature scene, labeled "decadent" by detractors. Merezhkovsky's new drama ''Sylvio'' was published there, the translation of
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...
's ''
The Raven "The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a distraught lover who is paid a myst ...
'' followed suit. Other journals became interested in the young author too: '' Russkaya Mysl'' published his poem ''Vera'' (later included in his ''The Symbols'' compilation), hailed as one of the Russian Symbolism's early masterpieces, its colourful mysticism providing a healthy antidote to narodniks's "reflections" of the social life. Bryusov "absolutely fell in love with it," and
Pyotr Pertsov Pyotr Petrovich Pertsov (Пётр Петрович Перцов, 16 June 1868 — 19 May 1947) was a Russian poet, publisher, editor, literary critic, journalist and memoirist associated with the Russian Symbolist movement. Biography Pyotr Pe ...
years later admitted: "For my young mind Merezhkovsky's ''Vera'' sounded so much superior to this dull and old-fashioned Pushkin". ''Russkaya Mysl'' released ''The Family Idyll'' (Semeynaya idillia, 1890), a year later another symbolic poem ''Death'' (Smert) appeared in ''Severny Vestnik''. In 1891 Merezhkovsky and Gippius made their first journey to Europe, staying mostly in Italy and France; the poem ''End of the Century'' (Konetz Veka) inspired by the European trip, came out two years later. On their return home the couple stayed for a while in Guppius' dacha at
Vyshny Volochyok Vyshny VolochyokThe more-regular spelling Vyshny Volochok ( rus, Вы́шний Волочо́к)—with instead of after an unpaired " hush consonant"—is seen but is not official; the two spellings are pronounced the same in Russian. ( rus, ...
; it was here that Merezhkovsky started working on his first novel, '' The Death of the Gods. Julian the Apostate''. A year later it was finished, but by this time the situation with ''Severny Vestnik'' had changed: outraged by
Akim Volynsky 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 and ballet) critic and historian, on ...
's intrusive editorial methods, Merezhkovsky severed ties with the magazine, at least for a while. In the late 1891 he published his translation of Sophocles' ''
Antigone In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., ...
'' in ''Vestnik Evropy'', part of
Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...
's ''Faustus'' (in ''Russkoye Obozrenye'') and Euripides' ''Hyppolite'' (in ''Vestnik Evropy'' again). The latter came out in 1893, after the couple's second trip to Europe where their first encounter with
Dmitry Filosofov Dmitry Vladimirovich Filosofov (russian: Дми́трий Влади́мирович Филосо́фов; in Saint Petersburg – 4 August 1940 in Otwock, Poland) was a Russian author, essayist, literary critic, religious thinker, newspaper edi ...
occurred. Merezhkovsky's vivid impressions of Greece and the subsequent spurt of the new ideas provided the foundation for his second novel.


The Symbolism manifests

In 1892 Merezhkovsky's second volume of poetry entitled ''Symbols. Poems and Songs'' came out. The book, bearing E.A.Poe and
Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticism inherited fr ...
's influences but also tinged with the author's newly found religious ideas, became a younger readership's favourite. Of the elder writers only Yakov Polonsky supported it wholeheartedly. In October 1892 Merezhkovsky's lecture "The Causes of the Decline of the Contemporary Russian Literature and the New Trends in it" was first read in public, then came out in print. Brushing aside the 'decadent' tag, the author argued that all three "streaks of Modern art" — "Mystic essence, Symbolic language and Impressionism" — could be traced down to the works of
Lev Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
or Dostoyevsky, Russian Modernism, therefore, being a continuation of the Russian literature's classic tradition. Coupled with ''Symbols'', the lecture was widely accepted as Russian symbolism's early manifest. The general reaction to it was mostly negative. The author found himself between the two fires: liberals condemned his ideas as "the new obscurantism," members of posh literary salons treated his revelations with scorn. Only one small group of people greeted "The Causes" unanimously, and that was the staff of ''Severny Vestnik'', which welcomed him back. In 1893–1894 Merezhkovsky published numerous books (the play ''The Storm is Over'' and the translation of
Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...
' ''Oedipus the King'' among them), but the money all this hard work brought were scant. Now writing his second novel, he had to accept whatever work was offered to him. In the late 1893 Merezhkovskys settled in Saint Petersburg again. Here they frequented the Shakespearean Circle, the Polonsky's Fridays and the Literary Fund gatherings. Then the pair started their own home salon with Filosofov and
Akim Volynsky 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 and ballet) critic and historian, on ...
becoming habitués. All of a sudden Merezhkovsky found that his debut novel was to be published in ''Severny Vestnik'' after all. What he didn't realise was that this came as a result of a Gippius' tumultuous secret love affair with
Akim Volynsky 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 and ballet) critic and historian, on ...
, one of this magazine's chiefs.


1895–1903

''The Death of the Gods'' which came out in 1895 (''Severny Vestnik'', Nos.1–6) opened the ''Christ & Antichrist'' trilogy and in retrospect is regarded as the first Russian symbolist novel. Sceptics prevailed (most of them denouncing the author's alleged
Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his car ...
anity), but the allies were ecstatic. "A novel made for eternity," Bryusov marveled. Five years later ''Julian the Apostate'' was published in France, translated by Zinaida Vasilyeva. Merezhkovsky's relationship with ''Severny Vestnik'', though, again started to deteriorate, the reason being
Akim Volynsky 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 and ballet) critic and historian, on ...
's jealousy. In 1896 all three of them (husband still unaware of what was going on behind his back) made a trip to Europe to visit
Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested on ...
's places. Several ugly rows with Volynsky finally prompted Gippius to send her scandalous-minded lover home. Volynsky reacted by expelling his ex-lover's husband from ''Severny Vestnik'' (some sources say it was the Merezhkovskys who withdraw their cooperation with the "Severny Vestnik" a year before the magazine shut down in 1898, along with Minsky and Sologub), made sure the major literary journals would shut the door on him and published (in 1900) under his own name a monograph ''Leonardo da Vinci'', written and compiled by his adversary. The scandal concerning plagiarism lasted for almost two years. Feeling sick and ignored, Merezhkovsky in 1897 was seriously considering leaving his country for good, being kept at home only by the lack of money. For almost three years the second novel, '' Resurrection of Gods. Leonardo da Vinci'' (''The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci'' – in English and French) remained unpublished. It finally appeared in Autumn 1900 in ''
Mir Bozhy ''Mir Bozhiy'' (God's World, Мир божий) was a Russian monthly magazine published in Saint Petersburg in 1892–1906. It was edited first by Viktor Ostrogorsky (1892-1901), then by Fyodor Batyushkov (1902-1906). In July 1906 ''Mir Bozhiy' ...
'' under the title "The Renaissance". In retrospect these two books' "...persuasive power came from Merezhkovsky's success in catching currents then around him: strong contrasts between social life and spiritual values, fresh interest in the drama of pagan ancient Athens, and identification with general western European culture." By the time of his second novel's release Merezhkovsky was in a different cultural camp – that of Dyagilev and his close friends –
Alexandre Benois Alexandre Nikolayevich Benois (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Бенуа́, also spelled Alexander Benois; ,Salmina-Haskell, Larissa. ''Russian Paintings and Drawings in the Ashmolean Museum''. pp. 15, 23-24. Published by ...
,
Léon Bakst Léon Bakst (russian: Леон (Лев) Николаевич Бакст, Leon (Lev) Nikolaevich Bakst) – born as Leyb-Khaim Izrailevich (later Samoylovich) Rosenberg, Лейб-Хаим Израилевич (Самойлович) Розенбе ...
, Nikolay Minsky and
Valentin Serov Valentin Alexandrovich Serov (russian: Валенти́н Алекса́ндрович Серо́в; 19 January 1865 – 5 December 1911) was a Russian painter and one of the premier portrait artists of his era. Life and work Youth and educ ...
. Their own brand new ''
Mir Iskusstva ''Mir iskusstva'' ( rus, «Мир искусства», p=ˈmʲir ɪˈskustvə, ''World of Art'') was a Russian magazine and the artistic movement it inspired and embodied, which was a major influence on the Russians who helped revolutionize Eur ...
'' (World of Art) magazine, with Dmitry Filosofov as a literary editor, accepted Merezhkovsky wholeheartedly. It was here that his most famous essay, ''
L. Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky ''L. Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky'' was a literary essay (often referred to as a literary-critical essay) written by Dmitry Merezhkovsky and published between 1900 and 1901 in '' Mir Iskusstva'' magazine. The essay explored a comparison between the c ...
'' was published in 1900–1901, coinciding with the escalation of Tolstoy's conflict with the
Russian Orthodox church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...
. Tolstoy invited the couple to his
Yasnaya Polyana Yasnaya Polyana ( rus, Я́сная Поля́на, p=ˈjasnəjə pɐˈlʲanə, literally: "Bright Glade") is a writer's house museum, the former home of the writer Leo Tolstoy. Bartlett, p. 25 It is southwest of Tula, Russia, and from Mosco ...
estate in 1904 and, to both parties' delight, the visit proved to be friendly. Behind the facade, there was little love lost between them; the old man confessed in his diary that, he just couldn't "force himself to love those two," and Merezhkovsky's critique of what he saw as "Tolstoy's
nihilism Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. The term was popularized by I ...
" continued.


The ''God-seekers'' and ''Troyebratstvo''

In the early 1900s Merezhkovskys formed the group called the Religious-Philosophical Meetings (1901–1903) based on the concept of the New Church which was suggested by Gippius and supposed to become an alternative to the old Orthodox doctrine, "...imperfect and prone to stagnation." The group, organized by Merezhkovsky and Gippius along with
Vasily Rozanov Vasily Vasilievich Rozanov (russian: Васи́лий Васи́льевич Рóзанов; – 5 February 1919) was one of the most controversial Russian writers and important philosophers in the symbolists' of the pre-revolutionary epoch ...
,
Viktor Mirolyubov Viktor Sergeyevich Mirolyubov (russian: Виктор Серге́евич Миролюбов, 22 January 1860, Moscow, Russian Empire – 26 October 1939, Leningrad, USSR) was a Russian journalist, editor and publisher. Having started out as an o ...
and Valentin Ternavtsev, claimed to provide "a tribune for open discussion of questions concerning religious and cultural problems," serving to promote "neo-Christianity, social organization and whatever serves perfecting the human nature." Having lost by this time contacts with both ''Mir Iskusstva'' and ''Mir Bozhy'', Merezhkovskys felt it was time for them to create their own magazine, as a means for "bringing the thinking religious community together." In July 1902, in association with Pyotr Pertsov and assisted by some senior officials including ministers
Dmitry Sipyagin Dmitry Sergeyevich Sipyagin (russian: Дми́трий Серге́евич Сипя́гин) ( – ) was a Russian politician. Political career Born in Kiev, Sipyagin graduated from the Judicial Department of St Petersburg University in 187 ...
and
Vyacheslav von Plehve Vyacheslav Konstantinovich von Plehve ( rus, Вячесла́в (Wenzel (Славик)) из Плевны Константи́нович фон Пле́ве, p=vʲɪtɕɪˈslaf fɐn ˈplʲevʲɪ; – ) served as a director of Imperial Russ ...
, they opened their own '' Novy Put'' (New Path) magazine, designed as an outlet for The Meetings. After the 22nd session, in April 1903, the Meetings of the group (by this time known as ''Bogoiskateli'', or God-seekers) were cancelled by the procurator of the
Holy Synod In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod. For instance, the Holy Synod is a ruling body of the Georgian Orthodox C ...
of the Russian Orthodox Church
Konstantin Pobedonostsev Konstantin Petrovich Pobedonostsev ( rus, Константи́н Петро́вич Победоно́сцев, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ pəbʲɪdɐˈnostsɨf; 30 November 1827 – 23 March 1907) was a Russian jurist, statesman ...
's decree, the main reason being Merezhkovsky's frequent visits to places of mass
sectarian Sectarianism is a political or cultural conflict between two groups which are often related to the form of government which they live under. Prejudice, discrimination, or hatred can arise in these conflicts, depending on the political status quo ...
settlements where God-seekers' radical ideas of Church 'renovation' were becoming popular. In ''Novy Put'' things changed too: with the arrival of strong personalities like Nikolai Berdyayev,
Sergey Bulgakov Sergei Nikolaevich Bulgakov (; russian: Серге́й Никола́евич Булга́ков; – 13 July 1944) was a Russian Orthodox theologian, priest, philosopher, and economist. Biography Early life: 1871–1898 Sergei Nikolaevich Bu ...
and
Semyon Frank Semyon Lyudvigovich Frank (russian: Семён Лю́двигович Франк; 28 January 1877 – 10 December 1950) was a Russian philosopher. Born into a Jewish family, he became a Christian in 1912. Early life and studies Semyon Lyudvigov ...
the magazine solidified its position, yet drifted away from its originally declared mission. In the late 1904 Merezhkovsky and Gippius quit ''Novy Put'', remaining on friendly terms with its new leaders and their now highly influential 'philosophy section'. In 1907 the Meetings revived under the new moniker of The Religious-Philosophical Society, Merezhkovsky once again promoting his 'Holy Ghost's Kingdom Come' ideas. This time it looked more like a literary circle than anything it had ever purported to be. The couple formed their own domestic "church", trying to involve ''miriskusniks''. Of the latter, only Filosofov took the idea seriously and became the third member of the so-called ''Troyebratstvo'' (The Brotherhood of Three) built loosely upon the
Holy Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...
format and having to do with the obscure 12th century idea of the Third Testament. Merezhkovsky developed it into the ''Church of the
Holy Ghost For the majority of Christian denominations, the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, is believed to be the third person of the Trinity, a Triune God manifested as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each entity itself being God.Gru ...
'', destined to succeed older churches – first of the Father (
Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
), then of the Son (
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...
). The services at ''Troyebratstvo'' (with the traditional Russian Orthodox elements organized into a bizarre set of rituals) were seen by many as
blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religio ...
and divided the St. Petersburg intellectual elite:
Vasily Rozanov Vasily Vasilievich Rozanov (russian: Васи́лий Васи́льевич Рóзанов; – 5 February 1919) was one of the most controversial Russian writers and important philosophers in the symbolists' of the pre-revolutionary epoch ...
was fascinated by the thinly veiled eroticism of the happening, Nikolai Berdyaev was among those outraged by the whole thing, as were the (gay, mostly) members of ''Mir Iskusstva''.
Sergei Diaghilev Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪˈrɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), usually referred to outside Russia as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, pa ...
accused Filosofov of committing 'adultery'. The latter in 1905 settled down in Merezhkovskys' St. Petersburg house, becoming virtually a family member. In 1904 '' Peter and Alexis'', the third and final novel of ''Christ and Antichrist'' trilogy was published (in ''Novy Put'', Nos.1–5, 9–12), having at its focus the figure of
Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
as an "embodied Antichrist" – an idea the author shared with Russian ''
raskol The Schism of the Russian Church, also known as Raskol (russian: раскол, , meaning "split" or "schism"), was the splitting of the Russian Orthodox Church into an official church and the Old Believers movement in the mid-17th century. It ...
niki''. The novel's release was now eagerly anticipated in Europe where Merezhkovsky by this time has become a best-selling author, ''Julian the Apostate'' having undergone ten editions (in four years) in France. But when ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...
'' described the novelist as "an heir to Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky's legacy," back in Russia critics denounced this praise so unanimously that Merezhkovsky was forced to publicly deny having had any pretensions of this kind whatsoever.


1905–1908

After the
Bloody Sunday Bloody Sunday may refer to: Historical events Canada * Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia * Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence aga ...
of January 9, 1905, Merezhkovsky's views changed drastically, the defeat of the
Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from ...
by the
Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
helping him see, as he put it, "the anti-Christian nature of the Russian monarchy." The
1905 Revolution The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...
was now seen by Merezhkovsky as a prelude for some kind of a religious upheaval he thought himself to be a
prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the ...
of. The writer became an ardent supporter of the civil unrest, writing pro-revolutionary verse, organizing protest parties for students, like that in
Alexandrinsky theatre The Alexandrinsky Theatre (russian: Александринский театр) or National Drama Theatre of Russia is a theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The Alexandrinsky Theatre was built for the Imperial troupe of Petersburg (Imperial tr ...
. In October 1905 he greeted the government's 'freedoms-granting' decree but since then was only strengthening ties with leftist radicals, notably, esers. In ''The Forthcoming Ham '' (Gryadushchu Ham, 1905) Merezhkovsky explained his political stance, seeing, as usual, all things refracted into Trinities. Using the pun ("
Ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...
" in Russian, along with a Biblical character's name, meaning 'lout', 'boor') the author described the three "faces of Ham'stvo" (son of Noah's new incarnation as kind of nasty, God-jeering scoundrel Russian): the past (Russian Orthodox Church's hypocrisy), the present (the state bureaucracy and monarchy) and the future – massive "boorish upstart rising up from society's bottom." Several years on the book was regarded as prophetic by many. In spring 1906, Merezhkovsky and Filosofov went into a self-imposed European exile in order to promote what they termed "the new religious consciousness." In France they founded ''Anarchy and Theocracy'' magazine and released a compilation of essays called ''Le Tsar et la Revolution''.''Merezhkovsky. D.S.'
Revolution and Religion
— russianway.rchgi.spb.ru. — 1907.
In one of the articles he contributed to it, ''Revolution and Religion'', Merezhkovsky wrote: "Now it's almost impossible to foresee what a deadly force this revolutionary tornado starting upwards from the society's bottom will turn out to be. The church will be crashed down and the monarchy too, but with them — what if Russia itself is to perish — if not the timeless soul of it, then its body, the state?" Again, what at the time was looked upon as dull political grotesque a decade later turned into grim reality. In 1908 the play about "the routinous side of the revolution," ''Poppy Blossom'' (Makov Tzvet) came out, all three Troyebratstvo members credited as co-authors. It was followed by "The Last Saint" (Posledny Svyatoy), a study on Seraphim Sarovsky, this time Merezhkovsky's own work. More significant were two of his socio-political/philosophical essays, "Not Peace But Sword" and "In Sill Waters". In them, working upon his concept of "the evolutionary mysticism," Merezhkovsky argued that revolution in both Russia and the rest of the world (he saw the two as closely linked: the first "steaming forward," the latter "rattling behind") was inevitable, but could succeed only if preceded by "the revolution of the human spirit," involving the Russian intelligentsia's embracing his idea of the Third Testament. Otherwise, Merezhkovsky prophesied, political revolution will bring nothing but tyranny and the "Kingdom of Ham." Among people whom Merezhkovskys talked with in Paris were
Anatole France (; born , ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters. He was a member of the Académie França ...
,
Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as ...
,
Bergson Henri-Louis Bergson (; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopherHenri Bergson. 2014. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 13 August 2014, from https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/61856/Henri-Bergson
, leaders of the French Socialists. Disappointed by the general polite indifference to their ideas, husband and wife returned home in the late 1908, but not before Merezhkovsky's historical drama '' Pavel the First'' (Pavel Pervy) was published. Confiscated and then banned by the Russian authorities, it became the first part of the trilogy ''The Kingdom of the Beast'' (Tsarstvo zverya). Dealing with the nature and history of the Russian monarchy, the trilogy had little in common with the author's earlier symbolism-influenced prose and, cast in the humanist tradition of the 19th-century Russian literature, was seen later as marking the peak of Merezhkovsky's literary career. The second and the third parts of the trilogy, the
Decembrists The Decembrist Revolt ( ru , Восстание декабристов, translit = Vosstaniye dekabristov , translation = Uprising of the Decembrists) took place in Russia on , during the interregnum following the sudden death of Emperor Al ...
novels ''Alexander the First'' and ''December 14'' came out in 1913 and 1918 respectively.


1909–1913

In 1909 Merezhkovsky found himself in the center of another controversy after coming out with harsh criticism of '' Vekhi'', the volume of political and philosophical essays written and compiled by the group of influential writers, mostly his former friends and allies, who promoted their work as a manifesto, aiming to incite the inert Russian intelligentsia into the spiritual revival. Arguing against ''vekhovtsy''s idea of bringing Orthodoxy and the Russian intellectual elite together, Merezhkovsky wrote in an open letter to Nikolay Berdyaev:
Orthodoxy is the very soul of the Russian monarchy, and monarchy is the Orthodoxy's carcass. Among things they both hold sacred are political repressions, the ltra-nationalist
Union of Russian People The Union of the Russian People (URP) (russian: Союз русского народа, translit=Soyuz russkogo naroda; СРН/SRN) is a loyalist far-right nationalist political party, the most important among Black-Hundredist monarchist politic ...
, the death penalty and meddling with other countries' international affairs. How can one entrust oneself to prayers of those whose actions one sees as God-less and demonic?
Some argued Merezhkovsky's stance was inconsistent with his own ideas of some five years ago. After all, the ''Vekhi'' authors were trying to revitalize his own failed project of bringing the intellectual and the religious elites into collaboration. But the times have changed for Merezhkovsky and – following this (some argued, unacceptably scornful) anti-''Vekhi'' tirade, his social status, too. Shunned by both former allies and the conservatives, he was hated by the Church:
Saratov Saratov (, ; rus, Сара́тов, a=Ru-Saratov.ogg, p=sɐˈratəf) is the largest city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River upstream (north) of Volgograd. Saratov had a population of 901, ...
Bishop Dolganov even demanded his
excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
after the book ''Sick Russia '' was published in 1910. For the Social Democrats, conversely, Merezhkovsky, not a "decadent pariah" any-more, suddenly turned a "well-established Russian novelist" and the "pride of the European literature." Time has come for former friend Rozanov to write words that proved in the long run to be prophetic: "The thing is, Dmitry Sergeyevich, those whom you are with now, will never be with you. Never will you find it in yourself to wholly embrace this dumb, dull and horrible snout of the Russian revolution." In the early 1910s Merezhkovsky moved to the left side of the Russian cultural spectrum, finding among his closest associates the esers Ilya Fondaminsky and, notably,
Boris Savinkov Boris Viktorovich Savinkov (Russian: Бори́с Ви́кторович Са́винков; 31 January 1879 – 7 May 1925) was a Russian writer and revolutionary. As one of the leaders of the Fighting Organisation, the paramilitary wing ...
. The latter was trying to receive from Merezhkovsky some religious and philosophical justification for his own terrorist ideology, but also had another, more down to Earth axe to grind, that of getting his first novel published. This he did, with Merezhkovsky's assistance – to strike the most unusual debut of the 1910 Russian literary season. In 1911 Merezhkovsky was officially accused of having links with terrorists. Pending trial (which included the case of ''Pavel Pervy'' play) the writer stayed in Europe, then crossed the border in 1912 only to have several chapters of ''Alexander the First'' novel confiscated. He avoided being arrested and in September, along with Pirozhkov, the publisher, was acquitted. 1913 saw Merezhkovsky involved in another public scandal, when Vasily Rozanov openly accused him of having ties with the "terrorist underground" and, as he put it, "trying to sell Motherland to Jews." Merezhkovsky suggested that the Religious and Philosophical Society should hold a trial and expel Rozanov from its ranks. The move turned to be miscalculated, the writer failing to take into account the extent of his own unpopularity within the Society. The majority of the latter declined the proposal. Rozanov, high-horsed, quit the Society on his own accord to respond stingingly by publishing Merezhkovsky's private letters so as to demonstrate the latter's hypocrisy on the matter.


1914–1919


1914 - 1916

For a while in 1914 it looked as though Merezhkovsky would have his first ever relatively calm year. With the two ''Complete Works Of'' editions released by the Wolfe's and Sytin's publishing houses, academic
Nestor Kotlyarevsky Nestor Alexandrovich Kotlyarevsky (Не′стор Алекса′ндрович Котляре′вский February 2, 1863, Moscow, Russian Empire, - May 12, 1925, Leningrad, USSR) was a Russian author, publicist, literary critic and historian. ...
nominated the author for the Nobel Prize for literature. Then
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
broke out (July). The Merezhkovskys expressed their skepticism of Russian involvement in the war and of the patriotic hullabaloo stirred up by some intellectuals. The writer made a conscious effort to distance himself from politics and almost succeeded, but in 1915 was in it again, becoming friends with
Alexander Kerensky Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky, ; original spelling: ( – 11 June 1970) was a Russian lawyer and revolutionary who led the Russian Provisional Government and the short-lived Russian Republic for three months from late July to early Novem ...
and joining the
Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в;  – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...
-led Movement of the patriotic left calling for Russia's withdrawal from the war in the most painless possible way. Two new plays by Merezhkovsky, ''Joy Will Come'' (Radost Budet) and ''The Romantics'' were staged in war-time
Petrograd Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
theaters. . The latter proved a successful hit, but for the mainstream critics its playwright remained a "controversial author". "All in all, Russian literature is as hostile to me as it has always been. I could as well be celebrating the 25th anniversary of this hostility", the author wrote in his short autobiography for Semyon Vengerov's biographical dictionary.


1917: February and October

1917 for the Merezhkovskys started with a bout of political activity: the couple's flat on Sergiyevskaya Street looked like a secret branch of Russian
Duma A duma (russian: дума) is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were f ...
(that was when the seeds of a rumour concerning the couple's alleged membership in the Russian
freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
community were sown). Merezhkovsky greeted the February anti-monarchy revolution and described the Kerensky-led
Provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or ...
as "quite friendly". By the end of the spring he had become disillusioned with the government and its ineffective leader; in summer he began to speak of the government's inevitable fall and of a coming
Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
tyranny. Late October saw Merezhkovsky's worst expectations coming to life. Merezhkovsky viewed the October Socialist Revolution of 1917 as a catastrophe. He saw it as the Coming of
Ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...
he wrote about a decade later, the tragic victory for, as he choose to put it, Narod-Zver (The Beast-nation), the political and social incarnation of universal Evil, putting the whole of human civilization in danger. Merezhkovsky and Gippius tried to use whatever influence they retained upon the Bolshevist cultural leaders to ensure the release of their friends, the arrested Provisional-government ministers. Ironically, one of the first things the Soviet government did was lift the ban from Merezhkovsky's anti-monarchist ''Pavel Pervy'' play, and it was staged in several of Red Russia's theaters.


1918 - 1919

For a while the Merezhkovskys' flat served as an Eser headquarters, but this came to an end in January 1918 when
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...
dissolved the so-called ''Uchredilovka'' - the
Russian Constituent Assembly The All Russian Constituent Assembly (Всероссийское Учредительное собрание, Vserossiyskoye Uchreditelnoye sobraniye) was a constituent assembly convened in Russia after the October Revolution of 1917. It met fo ...
. In his 1918 diary Merezhkovsky wrote: In 1919, having sold everything including dishes and extra clothes, the Merezhkovskys started collaborating with Maxim Gorky's new , receiving a salary and food rations. "Russian Communists are not all of them villains. There are well-meaning, honest, crystal clear people among them. Saints, almost. These are the most horrible ones. These saints stink of the 'Chinese meat' most", Merezhkovsky wrote in his diary. Many people found it inexplicable that amidst mass hunger with no agricultural farms functioning suddenly lots of fresh veal would appear from time to time at market places, sold invariably by the Chinese. This "veal" was widely believed to be human flesh: that of the "enemies of the revolution", executed in the
Cheka The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə), abbreviated ...
basements.
After news started to filter through of the defeats suffered by the White forces of Yudenich, Kolchak and Denikin in the course of the
Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...
of 1917-1922, the Merezhkovskys saw their only chance of survival in fleeing Russia. They left Petrograd on December 14, 1919, along with Filosofov and Zlobin (Gippius' young secretary), having obtained from
Anatoly Lunacharsky Anatoly Vasilyevich Lunacharsky (russian: Анато́лий Васи́льевич Лунача́рский) (born Anatoly Aleksandrovich Antonov, – 26 December 1933) was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and the first Bolshevik Soviet People ...
signed permission "to leave Petrograd for the purpose of reading some lectures on Ancient Egypt to
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...
fighters".


Merezhkovsky in exile

Merezkovsky, Gippius, Filosofov and Zlobin headed first for
Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative stat ...
, then Vilno, staying in both cities to give newspaper interviews and public lectures. Speaking to a Vilno correspondent, Merezhkovsky commented:
The whole question of Russia's existence as such — and it's non-existent at the moment, as far as I am concerned, — depends on Europe's recognizing at last the true nature of Bolshevism. Europe has to open its eyes to the fact that Bolshevism uses the Socialist banner only as a camouflage; that what it does in effect is defile high Socialist ideals; that it is a global threat, not just local Russian disease. ...There is not a trace in Russia at the moment of either Socialism or even the roclaimed
dictatorship of proletariat In Marxist philosophy, the dictatorship of the proletariat is a condition in which the proletariat holds state power. The dictatorship of the proletariat is the intermediate stage between a capitalist economy and a communist economy, whereby the ...
; the only dictatorship that's there is that of the two people:
Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...
and
Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian M ...
.
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 officiall ...
Merezhkovsky did practical work for some Russian immigrant organizations, Gippius edited the literary section in ''Svoboda'' newspaper. Both were regarding Poland as a "messianic", potentially unifying place and a crucial barrier in the face of the spreading Bolshevist plague. In the summer of 1920 Boris Savinkov arrived into the country to have talks with
Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Naczelnik państwa, Chief of State (1918–1922) and Marshal of Poland, First Marshal of Second Polish Republic, Poland (from 1920). He was ...
: he engaged Merezhkovsky and Filosofov in the activities of the so-called Russian Evacuation committee (more of a White Army mobilization center) and introduced the writer to Piłsudski. On behalf of the Committee Merezhkovsky issued a memorandum calling the peoples of Russia to stop fighting the Polish army and join its ranks. The whole thing flopped, though, as Poland and Russia reached the armistice agreement. Merezhkovskys and Zlobin left for France, Filosofov staying in Warsaw to head the Savinkov-led Russian National committee's anti-Bolshevik propaganda department. In Paris Merezhkovsky founded the Religious Union (later Soyuz Neprimirimykh, the Union of the Unpacified), was holding lectures, contributed to
Pavel Milyukov Pavel Nikolayevich Milyukov ( rus, Па́вел Никола́евич Милюко́в, p=mʲɪlʲʊˈkof; 31 March 1943) was a Russian historian and liberal politician. Milyukov was the founder, leader, and the most prominent member of the Co ...
's ''Poslednye Novosty'' and
Pyotr Struve Peter (or Pyotr or Petr) Berngardovich Struve (russian: Пётр Бернга́рдович Стру́ве; pronounced ; 26 January 1870 in Perm – 22 February 1944 in Paris) was a Russian political economist, philosopher, historian and edito ...
's ''Osvobozhdenye'' newspapers, exposing what he saw as the Bolshevist lies and denouncing the "Kingdom of Antichrist." It was becoming more and more obvious, though, that Merezhkovsky, backed only by the circle of friends, was in isolation, misunderstood by some, abhorred by others. His calling for the international intervention into Russia angered the left; rejecting the restoration of the Russian monarchy antagonized the right. His single ally at the time was
Ivan Bunin Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin ( or ; rus, Ива́н Алексе́евич Бу́нин, p=ɪˈvan ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ ˈbunʲɪn, a=Ivan Alyeksyeyevich Bunin.ru.vorb.oga;  – 8 November 1953) was the first Russian writer awarded the ...
; never sharing much personal affinity, the two men formed an alliance in their relentless anti-Soviet campaign. Besides, having maintained strong contacts with influential French politics lobbying the interests of the Russian immigrants, both ensured that the Russian writers should get some financial support from the French government. A couple of years later another sponsor was found in
Tomáš Masaryk Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (7 March 185014 September 1937) was a Czechoslovak politician, statesman, sociologist, and philosopher. Until 1914, he advocated restructuring the Austro-Hungarian Empire into a federal state. With the help of ...
who granted personal pensions to some prominent figures in the immigrant Russian writers' community. Merezhkovsky insisted upon severing all the
International PEN PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internatio ...
's contacts with Communist Russia and cancelling French help for the victims of mass hunger in Russian
Volga Region The Volga Region (russian: Поволжье, ''Povolzhye'', literally: "along the Volga") is a historical region in Russia that encompasses the drainage basin of the Volga River, the longest river in Europe, in central and southern European Russ ...
arguing, not unreasonably, that those in need will not ever see any of the money or food sent. He criticised the exiled Russian Constituent Assembly's communique which was, in his opinion, too conciliatory in tone. In 1922 the collection of articles and essays of the four authors (Merezhkovsky, Gippius, Filosofov contacts with whom have been restored, and Zlobin) came out under the title ''The Kingdom of Antichrist'', the general idea of the book being that the 'Russian fires', globalist in their nature and intent, promise "either brotherhood in slavery or the end in a common grave" for the European nations.Terapiano, Yuri. Sundays at Merezhkovskys and The Green Lamp Group. Distant Shores. Portraits of Writers in Exile. Memoirs. — Moscow, Respublica Publishing House, 1994. p. 21 In winter 1925 a small literary and philosophy circle was formed by Merezhkovsky and Gippius; two years later it was officially launched as the Green Lamp group. With the ''Novy Korabl'' (The New Ship) magazine of its own, the group attracted the whole of the Russian intellectual elite in exile and remained the important cultural center for the next ten years. "We are the Criticism of Russia as such, the latter's disembodied Thought and Conscience, free to judge its present and foresee its future," wrote Merezhkovsky of the Green Lamp mission. In 1928 at the First Congress of Russian writers in exile held in
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...
, King
Alexander I of Yugoslavia Alexander I ( sr-Cyrl, Александар I Карађорђевић, Aleksandar I Karađorđević, ) ( – 9 October 1934), also known as Alexander the Unifier, was the prince regent of the Kingdom of Serbia from 1914 and later the King of Yu ...
bestowed on Merezhkovsky the Order of Savva of the 1st Degree merited by his services for world culture. A series of lectures organised for Merezhkovsky and Gippius by the
Serbian Academy The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Serbica, sr-Cyr, Српска академија наука и уметности, САНУ, Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, SANU) is a national academy and the ...
signalled the launch of the Yugoslav-based "Russian Library" series, where the best works of Bunin, Merezhkovsky, Gippius,
Alexander Kuprin Aleksandr Ivanovich Kuprin (russian: link=no, Александр Иванович Куприн;  – 25 August 1938) was a Russian writer best known for his novels ''The Duel'' (1905)Kuprin scholar Nicholas Luker, in his biography ''A ...
,
Aleksey Remizov Aleksey Mikhailovich Remizov (russian: Алексе́й Миха́йлович Ре́мизов; in Moscow – 26 November 1957 in Paris) was a Russian modernist writer whose creative imagination veered to the fantastic and bizarre. Apart fro ...
,
Konstantin Balmont Konstantin Dmitriyevich Balmont ( rus, Константи́н Дми́триевич Бальмо́нт, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin ˈdmʲitrʲɪjɪvʲɪdʑ bɐlʲˈmont, a=Konstantin Dmitriyevich Bal'mont.ru.vorb.oga; – 23 December 1942) was a Rus ...
,
Ivan Shmelyov Ivan Sergeyevich Shmelyov (russian: Иван Сергеевич Шмелёв, also spelled ''Shmelev'' and ''Chmelov'') ( – 24 June 1950) was a Russian writer best known for his full-blooded idyllic recreations of the pre-revolutionary past ...
and
Igor Severyanin Igor Severyanin (russian: И́горь Северя́нин; pen name, real name Igor Vasilyevich Lotaryov: И́горь Васи́льевич Лотарёв; May 16, 1887 – December 20, 1941) was a Russian poet who presided over the circle ...
came out over the next several years. Things started to deteriorate in the early 1930s; with the Czech and the French grants withdrawn and much feared Socialists rising high on the French political scene, Merezhkovskys looked southwards and found there a sympathizer in
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in ...
who took great interest in the work and views of a Russian writer, now a multiple Nobel Prize for literature nominee.


Merezhkovsky's literary activities: 1925–1941

In the mid-1920s, disappointed by the Western cultural elite's reaction to his political manifestos, Merezhkovsky returned to religious and philosophical essays, but in the new format, that of a monumental free-form experimental-styled treatise. Some of his new books were biographies, some just extensive, amorphous researches in ancient history. Speaking of the first two of them, ''The Birth of Gods. Tutankhamen in Crete'' (1925) and ''Messiah'' (1928), Merezhkovsky thus explained his credo: "Many people think I am a historical novelist, which is wrong. What I use the Past for is only searching for the Future. The Present is a kind of exile to me. My true home is the Past/Future, which is where I belong." Of the three fundamental books Merezhkovsky created in the late 1920s early 1930s another trilogy took shape, loosely linked by the concept of man's possible way to salvation. ''The Mystery of the Three: Egypt and Babylon'' (
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, 1925) was followed by the ''Mystery of the West: Atlantis-Europe'' (
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
, 1930), where the cherished Third Testament idea took an apocalyptic,
Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his car ...
an turn. The third, ''Unfamiliar Jesus'' (1932, Belgrade), is seen in retrospect as the strongest of the three. All of a sudden Merezhkovsky, a prolific writer again, drifted into the focus of the Nobel Prize committee attention. From 1930 onwards Sigurd Agrell, professor of Slavic languages in
Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion


Merezhkovsky and the European dictators

Although never a
Russian nationalist Russian nationalism is a form of nationalism that promotes Russian cultural identity and unity. Russian nationalism first rose to prominence in the early 19th century, and from its origin in the Russian Empire, to its repression during early B ...
, Merezhkovsky was a Russo-centric author and thinker, cherishing the idea of his country's unique and in many ways decisive place in the world culture in history. Never tiring of reiterating the "Russian plight is the problem of the world, not Russia" postulate, he was ever on the look-out for some "strong
leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets v ...
" who would be able to organize and successfully see through the anti-Communist crusade. For a while Merezhkovsky thought he had found his hero in
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in ...
who, having sponsored his book on
Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ' ...
, had several lengthy talks with the Russian writer on politics, literature and art. Impressed, Merezhkovsky started to see his new friend almost as an incarnation of Dante. In a letter addressed to Mussolini, he wrote:
The best, the truest and the liveliest document on Dante is — your personality. To understand Dante one has to live through him, but only you being around makes that possible. Two souls, his and yours, are merged into one, Infinity itself bringing you two together. Visualize Mussolini in contemplation, and it's Dante. Imagine Dante in action, and it's Mussolini.
All the while Merezhkovsky was trying to convince Mussolini that it was the latter's mission to start the "Holy War against Russia" (the idea formed the basis of his article "Meeting Mussolini", published by ''Illustrated Russia'' in February 1937). Seeing his name frequently mentioned by the Italian press in connection with Merezhkovsky's bizarre suggestions made the
Duce ( , ) is an Italian title, derived from the Latin word 'leader', and a cognate of ''duke''. National Fascist Party leader Benito Mussolini was identified by Fascists as ('The Leader') of the movement since the birth of the in 1919. In 192 ...
uneasy and he took a step back. Visiting Rome in summer 1937, Merezhkovsky had talks with the Italian Foreign Minister, but failed to meet Mussolini. Then came the disillusionment, and in October of the same year he was already speaking of how disappointed he was with the Italian leader's "petty materialism". He tried to contact General
Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...
, now seeing Spain as the last anti-Communist citadel of Europe - and failed. Thus Merezhkovsky's choice of the new European "heroes" narrowed down to
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...
. Merezhkovsky had never seen
Fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and t ...
as an alternative to Communism. As early as 1930 he wrote of a doomed Europe stuck between the two "stores of explosives: Fascism and Communism", expressing hope that some day these two evils will somehow destroy one another. But the danger of the Fuhrer's possible subjugation of Europe was still the lesser evil for him - compared to possible Communist expansion. The "Hitler dilemma" was the only thing husband and wife ever disagreed on. Gippius hated and despised the Fuhrer, referring to him as "an idiot". Merezhkovsky thought he found a leader who'd be able to take the whole of Antichrist Kingdom upon himself, this outweighing for him such trivia as the fact that his own ''Joan of Arc'' (1939) was banned in Germany on the day of its release. In summer 1939 Paramount (in collaboration with the French Association des Auteurs de Films) bought Merezhkovsky's scenario ''The Life of Dante''. The production was cancelled on September 1, as
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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
broke out in Europe. On September 9, fleeing the air raids, the Merezhkovskys moved to
Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; Basque also ; oc, Biàrritz ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spa ...
in the south of France, where they spent the next three months, communicating mainly with the French and the English military officers, but also with
Irina Odoyevtseva Iraida Heinike (15 June 1895 or 1901 – 14 October 1990), known by the pen name Irina Vladimirovna Odoyevtseva ( rus, Ирина Владимировна Одоевцева, p=ɪˈrʲinə vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvnə ɐˈdojɪftsɨvə) was a Russian p ...
and her husband
Georgy Ivanov Georgy Vladimirovich Ivanov (russian: Гео́ргий Влади́мирович Ива́нов; in Puki Estate, Seda Volost, Kovno Governorate – 26 August 1958 in Hyères, Var, France) was a leading poet and essayist of the Russian emigr ...
.Zobnin, p.385 On June 27, 1940 the German
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
occupied Biarritz. Here in a hotel on August 14 the writer's 75th anniversary celebration was held, organized by a group of French writers, with some notable Russians like Pavel Milyukov, Ivan Bunin and
Mark Aldanov Mark Aldanov (russian: Марк Алда́нов; Mordkhai-Markus Israelevich Landau, Mark Alexandrovich Landau, russian: Мордхай-Маркус Израилевич Ландау, Марк Алекса́ндрович Ланда́у; – Fe ...
invited. It was there that Merezhkovsky made comments which (according to biographer Yuri Zobnin) were later presented by some memoirists as his "infamous German radio speech". Still, even Zobnin admits that there were reasons to regard Merezhkovsky as a Nazi sympathizer. In the autumn of 1941 Merezhkovsky found himself in the center of his German admirers – students, mostly, but army officers too. It was their German friends who helped the couple move back to Paris from Biarritz where they found themselves penniless and on the verge of homelessness. "Merezhkovsky flew up to the
Nurnberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ci ...
fires with the agitation of a newly born butterfly... By this time most of us stopped visiting them," wrote , a Green Lamp group member.


=The "infamous radio speech"

= Exactly how and why did Merezhkovsky found himself on the German radio in June 1941 nobody was quite sure of. Gippius (according to Yury Terapiano who was quoting
Nina Berberova Nina Nikolayevna Berberova (russian: Ни́на Никола́евна Бербе́рова) (St Petersburg, 26 July 1901 – Philadelphia, 26 September 1993) was a Russian writer who chronicled the lives of anti-communist Russian refugees in ...
) blamed her own secretary Vladimir Zlobin who, using his German connections, allegedly persuaded the elderly man to come to the studio in the early days of the Nazi invasion of the
USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...
. In his speech (if its printed version entitled "Bolshevism and Humanity" is to be believed) Merezhkovsky, comparing Hitler to
Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronat ...
, called for an anti-Bolshevik crusade, reiterating, among other things, what he was saying all through the 1920s and 1930s:
Bolshevism will never change its nature... because right from the start it's been not a national, but international phenomenon. From the very first day Russia has been – and remains to this very day – only a means to the end: that of its conquering the whole world.
"This is the end for us," Gippius allegedly commented, disgusted and horrified. In the days to come, though, husband and wife (as those who knew them later attested) often expressed horror at the news of Nazis' atrocities on the Eastern front; according to Gippius' friend, poet Victor Mamchenko, Merezhkovsky far from supporting Hitler, in those days was actually condemning him. Biographer Zobnin doubts that Merezhkovsky appeared on German radio at all, noting that none of the memoirists who mentioned it had himself heard Merezhkovsky speaking on air. All of those "witnesses" invariably referred to the printed version of the "speech" published in 1944 by ''Parizhsky Vestnik''. This document, according to Zobnin (the author of the first comprehensive Merezhkovsky biography published in Russia) was most certainly a montage fake, concocted by Nazi propagandists out of the 1939 unpublished essay ''The Mystery of the Russian Revolution'' (on Dostoyevsky's ''
Demons A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, anime ...
'' novel), with bits and pieces thrown in. The researcher insists such a speech could not have been broadcast in the late June: the couple resided in Biarritz and for an elderly person to give everybody a slip and somehow get to Paris was hardly probable.Zobnin, p.383-384 Adding to the confusion is the well-documented fact that Merezhkovsky had already made one speech mentioning Hitler and Joan of Arc in one breath. It happened in August 1940 at his 75th-birthday celebration in Biarritz, and in a different context. In fact, his speech caused trouble because it was deemed too pro-Russian and anti-German. According to
Teffi Nadezhda Alexandrovna Teffi (russian: Наде́жда Алекса́ндровна Тэ́ффи; , Saint Petersburg – 6 October 1952, Paris) was a Russian humorist writer. Together with Arkady Averchenko she was one of the prominent authors of ...
, one of the people present, —
Irina Odoyevtseva Iraida Heinike (15 June 1895 or 1901 – 14 October 1990), known by the pen name Irina Vladimirovna Odoyevtseva ( rus, Ирина Владимировна Одоевцева, p=ɪˈrʲinə vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvnə ɐˈdojɪftsɨvə) was a Russian p ...
independently corroborated this. "He was going on about the Atlantis and its demise. For those who understood Russian it was obvious that what he meant was Germany's defeat and Russia's imminent victory, but the Germans never understood this and applauded," she remembered. All this, according to Zobnin, makes the "infamous German radio speech" look very much like a Nazi propaganda myth, picked up first by Yuri Terapiano, then authenticated by numerous reiterations.


Merezhkovsky's death

For the last three months of his life Merezhkovsky was working continuously in the couple's Paris flat, trying to finish ''Little Theresa''. On December 6 husband and wife returned from one of their regular walks and spent the evening, in Gippius' words, "arguing, as usual, about the Russia versus freedom dilemma." Skipping both supper and his habitual evening cigarette, Merezhkovsky went to his room early. Next morning the maid called Gippius to tell her the man was in some kind of trouble. Merezhkovsky was sitting unconscious next to a cold fireplace. The doctor arrived in 15 minutes' time and diagnosed
brain hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...
. In half an hour Merezhkovsky was pronounced dead. "...Me, I'm a worm, not man, slandered by humans, despised by peoples (Ps. 21, 7). But wrap itself into a chrysalis a hapless worm does only to break out as a shiny white, sunlight-like, resurrected butterfly," these were his last written words found on a piece of paper on a table. The funeral service was held on December 10 in the Orthodox church of Saint Aleksandr Nevsky. Dmitry Merezhkovsky was buried at the Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois Russian Cemetery, with just several people attending the ceremony.


Merezhkovsky's ideas

Merezhkovsky's first adopted philosophical trend was the then popular
positivism Positivism is an empiricist philosophical theory that holds that all genuine knowledge is either true by definition or positive—meaning ''a posteriori'' facts derived by reason and logic from sensory experience.John J. Macionis, Linda M. G ...
. Soon, disillusioned in this idea, although never rejecting it wholly, Merezhkovsky turned to religion. Seeds of this hybrid (European positivism grafted to what's been described as "the subjective idealism" of Russian Orthodoxy) sown on the field of literature study brought forth a brochure entitled "On the Causes of the Decline and the New Trends in Contemporary Russian Literature". This manifesto gave a burgeoning Russian Symbolist movement both ideology and the name as such: Merezhkovsky was the first in Russia to speak of
symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...
s as definitive means of cognizance in modern Art. In the center of this new train of thought was the notion of "rejecting the rational in favour of the intuitive" by means of exploiting what the author termed as "spirituality of a symbol," seeing the latter as a perfect means of describing Reality, otherwise unfathomable. Only through a symbol, according to Merezhkovsky, one could get to an object's deeper meaning, whereas (quoting, as he did,
Tyutchev Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev ( rus, Фёдор Ива́нович Тю́тчев, r=Fyódor Ivánovič Tyútčev, links=1, p=ˈfʲɵdər ɪˈvanəvʲɪt͡ɕ ˈtʲʉt͡ɕːɪf; Pre-Reform orthography: ; – ) was a Russian poet and diplomat. ...
) "thought, whilst being spoken, turns a lie": According to scholar D.Churakov, Merezhkovsky, pronouncing "the death of metaphysics" and putting forward the idea that only language of symbols could be an adequate instrument for discovering the modern world's pattern of meanings, was unwillingly following
Auguste Comte Isidore Marie Auguste François Xavier Comte (; 19 January 1798 – 5 September 1857) was a French philosopher and writer who formulated the doctrine of positivism. He is often regarded as the first philosopher of science in the modern sense ...
, the difference being that the latter was employing these ideas in scientific fields, while the former proposed to use them in literature and criticism.


The Third Testament

Merezhkovsky's next and most fundamental step ahead as a self-styled modernist philosophy leader was taken in tandem with his young intellectual wife Zinaida Gippius who from the first days of their meeting started generating new ideas for her husband to develop. Thus the Third Testament theory was born, or rather revived, transplanted from its Middle Ages Italian origins into the early 20th century's Russian ambience. It was the Third Testament that formed the basis of the early 20th-century Russian New Religious Consciousness movement which in turn kick started the Religious-Philosophical Society into action, again Gippius producing basic ideas for her husband to formulate. Borrowing the original idea from
Joachim of Fiore Joachim of Fiore, also known as Joachim of Flora and in Italian Gioacchino da Fiore (c. 1135 – 30 March 1202), was an Italian Christian theologian, Catholic abbot, and the founder of the monastic order of San Giovanni in Fiore. According to th ...
, a 12th-century theologist, Merezhkovskys created and developed their own concept of man's full-circle religious evolution. In it the Bible was seen as a starting point with God having taken two steps towards Man, for the latter to respond with the third, logically conclusive one. According to Merezhkovsky, the First (Divine Father's) and the Second (Divine Son's) Testaments could be seen only as preliminary steps towards the Third one, that of the Holy Ghost. With the first maintaining the Law of God and the second – the Grace of God, what the third Testament should do is bring Liberation to the human race; the First Testament revealing God's power as the gospel Truth, the Second transforming the gospel Truth into Love, the Third translating Love into Liberation. In this last Kingdom "pronounced and heard will be – the final, never before revealed name of the coming one: God the Liberator," according to the author. Merezhkovsky saw the Third Testament as a synthesis of the two original revelations: that "about Earth" (pre-Christian beliefs) and that "about Heaven" (Christianity). The Mystery of the Holy Trinity, when resolved, should link three elements into a circle, the great "new Earth under the new Heavens," as promised in the Book of the Apocalypse. As Rozanov put it, "Merezhkovsky's greatest innovation was this attempt to merge together the two — the Christian and the Heathen — poles of poignancy. To discover a 'tempting vice' in the greatest of virtues and the greatest of virtues in the tempting vice." This New Trinity concept implied that the all-inviting Holy Ghost was not a sexless spirit, but a female entity.


Sex and spirituality

Human history, according to Merezhkovsky, was one ceaseless "battle of two abysses": the abyss of Flesh (as discovered by pre-Christians) and the abyss of Spirit (opened by Christianity's sexless
asceticism Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...
). Pre-Christians celebrated flesh-driven sensuality at the expense of spirituality. Ascetic Christians brought about the rise of Spirit, at the expense of sex. Merezhkovsky declared the dialectical inevitability of thesis and antithesis' coming together, of the spiritual and the sexual poles uniting on a higher, celestial level. In his own words, "Being aware of myself in my body, I'm at the root of personality. Being aware of myself in the other one's body, I'm at the root of sex. Being aware of myself in all human bodies, I am at the root of unity". Noticing that one of the
Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated i ...
languages translates Spirit as Rucha, a female entity, Merezhkovsky interpreted the Holy Trinity as Father and Son's unity in the higher being, their common godly Mother. It is the latter's Kingdom Come that the Third Testament was supposed to lead to. Seeing both God and man as intrinsically unisexual, Merezhkovsky regarded a male/female schism to be a symptom of imperfection, the cause for primal human being's fatal disintegration. In the modern times, according to Merezhkovsky, both monastic and ascetic Christianity will cease to exist. Art would not just adopt religious forms, but become an integral part of religion, the latter taken in broader concept. Human evolution as he saw it, would lead to merging of whatever had been polarized: sex and spirit, religion and culture, male and female, et cetera — bringing about Kingdom Come, not 'out there', but 'here on Earth'.


Merezhkovsky and "religious anarchism"

Man's evolutional progress towards the Third Testament Kingdom Come will not be without some revolutionary upheavals, according to Merezhkovsky, will be strewn with "catastrophes", most of them dealing with the "revolution of Spirit." The consequence of such revolution would bring about gradual change in the nature of religion itself, the latter taking under its spacious wing not only man's sensual liberation but also the latter's "freedom of rebellion." "We are human only as long as we're rebels," Merezhkovsky insisted, expressing what some saw as a proto-
existentialist Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and value ...
idea. One result of the "revolution of Spirit" should be the severing of ties between state and religion, according to Merezhkovsky. "The Church – not the old, but the new, eternal, universal one – is as opposite to the idea of the state as an absolute truth is opposing an absolute lie," he declared in an open letter to Berdyaev. B.Rozental, analyzing Merezhkovsky's political and religious philosophy, thus summed up the writer's position: "The Law amounts to violence... The difference between legitimate power that holds violence 'in reserve' and violence itself is but a matter of degree: sinful are both. Autocracy and murder are nothing more than the two extreme forms of exhibiting riminalpower." Interpreting the Biblical version of the human history as a sequence of revolutionary events, Merezhkovsky saw religion and revolution as inseparable. It is just that for a social revolution to succeed, spiritual revolution should always come one step ahead of it. In Russia the lack of the latter brought about the former's fiasco, with Antichrist taking hold of things, he argued. In the 1920s Merezhkovsky lost interest in the religious anarchism doctrine. In his later years he became close to
ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...
ideals, prophesying the Kingdom Come as a synthesis of "Peter, Paul and John's principles", that is, bringing
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
,
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
and
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...
traditions together.


Legacy

Throughout his lifetime Dmitry Merezhkovsky polarized opinion in his native Russia, bringing upon himself both praise and scorn, occasionally from the same quarters. According to
Yevgeny Yevtushenko Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Yevtushenko ( rus, links=no, 1=Евге́ний Алекса́ндрович Евтуше́нко; 18 July 1933 – 1 April 2017) was a Soviet and Russian poet. He was also a novelist, essayist, dramatist, screenwriter, ...
, Merezhkovsky became Russia's first ever "new-type, universal kind of a dissident who managed to upset just about everybody who thought themselves to be responsible for guarding morality and order": In the words of a modern biographer, "he will find his place in history alongside
Marquis de Sade Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814), was a French nobleman, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer famous for his literary depictions of a libertine sexuality as well as numerous accusati ...
,
Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his car ...
and
Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi- autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical re ...
, those classics who only through being condemned and ostracized by the many could be approached and appreciated by the few." "I was disliked and scolded in Russia, loved and praised abroad, but misunderstood, both here and there," Merezhkovsky wrote in a letter to Nikolai Berdyaev. Merezhkovsky has been given credit for his exceptional erudition, the scientific approach to writing, literary gift and stylistic originality. Seen in retrospect as the first ever (and, arguably, the only one) Russian "cabinet writer of a European type," Merezhkovsky was, according to Berdyayev, "one of the best-educated people in Saint Petersburg of the first quarter of the 20th century."
Korney Chukovsky Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky ( rus, Корне́й Ива́нович Чуко́вский, p=kɐrˈnʲej ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ tɕʊˈkofskʲɪj, a=Kornyey Ivanovich Chukovskiy.ru.vorb.oga; 31 March NS 1882 – 28 October 1969) was one of the most p ...
, pondering on the dire state of the early 20th century Russia's cultural elite, admitted that "the most cultured of them all" was this "mysterious, unfathomable, almost mythical creature, Merezhkovsky". Anton Chekov insisted that the Russian Academy of Sciences should appoint Merezhkovsky its honorary academic, in as early as 1902. Merezhkovsky was the first in Russia to formulate the basic principles of Symbolism and Modernism, as opposed to 'decadence', a tag he was battling with. Never aspiring to a leading role in the movement, he soon became, according to I. Koretskaya, "a kind of handy encyclopedia for the ideology of Symbolism," which others "could borrow aesthetic, socio-historical and even moral ideas from." Having added a new ("thought-driven") dimension to the genre of historical novel and turning it into a modern art form, Merezhkovsky influenced
Andrey Bely Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev ( rus, Бори́с Никола́евич Буга́ев, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ bʊˈɡajɪf, a=Boris Nikolayevich Bugayev.ru.vorb.oga), better known by the pen name Andrei Bely or Biely ( rus, Андре ...
and
Aleksey Remizov Aleksey Mikhailovich Remizov (russian: Алексе́й Миха́йлович Ре́мизов; in Moscow – 26 November 1957 in Paris) was a Russian modernist writer whose creative imagination veered to the fantastic and bizarre. Apart fro ...
, as well as
Valery Bryusov Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov ( rus, Вале́рий Я́ковлевич Брю́сов, p=vɐˈlʲerʲɪj ˈjakəvlʲɪvʲɪdʑ ˈbrʲusəf, a=Valyeriy Yakovlyevich Bryusov.ru.vorb.oga; – 9 October 1924) was a Russian poet, prose writer, drama ...
, Aleksey N. Tolstoy,
Mikhail Bulgakov Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bʊlˈɡakəf; – 10 March 1940) was a Soviet writer, medical doctor, and playwright active in the fir ...
and
Mark Aldanov Mark Aldanov (russian: Марк Алда́нов; Mordkhai-Markus Israelevich Landau, Mark Alexandrovich Landau, russian: Мордхай-Маркус Израилевич Ландау, Марк Алекса́ндрович Ланда́у; – Fe ...
. It was Merezhkovsky who introduced such concepts as a "modernist novel" and a "symbolic historical novel" to the conservative Russian literature scene of the late 1890s. Merezhkovsky was praised as an engaging essayist and "a master of quote-juggling." Some critics loathed the repetitiveness in Merezhkovsky's prose, others admired his (in a broad sense) musical manner of employing certain ideas almost as symphonic themes, which was new at the time. No less influential, even if so much more controversial, were Merezhkovsky's philosophical, religious and political ideas. Alongside the obvious list of contemporary followers (Bely, Blok, etc.; almost all of them later became detractors) deeply interested in his theories were political figures (Fondaminsky, Kerensky, Savinkov), psychologists (
Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts i ...
), philosophers (Berdyaev, Rickert, Stepun), lawyers ( Kowalewsky).
Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
wrote of Merezhkovsky as of a "genius critic and specialist in a world psychology, second only to Nietzsche." Notable other Germans influenced by Merezhkovsky included
Arthur Moeller van den Bruck Arthur Wilhelm Ernst Victor Moeller van den Bruck (23 April 1876 – 30 May 1925) was a German cultural historian, philosopher and writer best known for his controversial 1923 book ''Das Dritte Reich'' ("The Third Reich"), which promoted German ...
and
Alfred Rosenberg Alfred Ernst Rosenberg ( – 16 October 1946) was a Baltic German Nazi theorist and ideologue. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart and he held several important posts in the Nazi government. He was the head o ...
Later researchers noted Merezhkovsky's willingness to question dogmas and thwart tradition with disregard to public opinion, never shying controversy and even scandal. Crucial in this context (according to O.Dafier) was his "quest for ways of overcoming deep crisis which came as a result of the Russian traditionalist Church losing its credibility."


Criticism

In Russia the general response to Merezhkovsky's literary, cultural and social activities was negative. His prose, even if on the face of it stylistically flawless and occasionally accessible, was, critics argued, an elitist thing unto itself, "hermetically closed for the uninitiated majority." "Having isolated himself from the real life, Merezhkovsky built up the inner temple for his own personal use. Me-and-culture, me-and-Eternity – those were his recurring themes," wrote in 1911
Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...
. For all his scientifically strict, academic approach to the process of collecting and re-processing material, contemporary academia, with little exception, ridiculed Merezhkovsky, dismissing him as a gifted charlatan, bent on rewriting history in accordance with his own current ideological and philosophical whims. Due to his incorrigible, as many saw it, tendency towards inconsistency, Merezhkovsky's old allies were deserting him, while new ones approached him warily. Vasily Rozanov wrote in 1909: Another former friend, Minsky, questioned Merezhkovsky's credibility as a critic, finding in his biographies a tendency to see in his subjects only things that he wanted to see, skillfully "re-moulding questions into instant answers." For all his religiosity, Merezhkovsky was never popular with either Russian Orthodox Church officials or the religious intellectual elite of the time, people like
Sergey Bulgakov Sergei Nikolaevich Bulgakov (; russian: Серге́й Никола́евич Булга́ков; – 13 July 1944) was a Russian Orthodox theologian, priest, philosopher, and economist. Biography Early life: 1871–1898 Sergei Nikolaevich Bu ...
,
Pavel Florensky Pavel Alexandrovich Florensky (also P. A. Florenskiĭ, Florenskii, Florenskij; russian: Па́вел Алекса́ндрович Флоре́нский; hy, Պավել Ֆլորենսկի, Pavel Florenski; – December 8, 1937) was a Russian O ...
and
Lev Shestov Lev Isaakovich Shestov (russian: Лев Исаа́кович Шесто́в; 31 January .S. 13 February 1866 – 19 November 1938), born Yehuda Leib Shvartsman (russian: Иегуда Лейб Шварцман), was a Russian existentialist and r ...
fiercely denouncing his ideas and projects. Similarly, the reputation of a radical Social democrat hasn't made Merezhkovsky popular in the leftist literary camp. He was variously described as "an anti-literature phenomenon" (
Viktor Shklovsky Viktor Borisovich Shklovsky ( rus, Ви́ктор Бори́сович Шкло́вский, p=ˈʂklofskʲɪj; – 6 December 1984) was a Russian and Soviet literary theorist, critic, writer, and pamphleteer. He is one of the major figures ass ...
), "the greatest corpse in the Russian literature" ( Ivanov-Razumnik) and "a book-worm", totally "foreign to all things human" (Korney Chukovsky).Zobnin, p. 80 The writer's work published in emigration was, according to the 1934 Soviet Literary encyclopedia "the telling example of the ideological degradation and cultural degeneration of the White emigres." Maxim Gorky's verdict: "Dmitry Merezhkovsky, a well-known God-admirer of a Christian mode, is a small man whose literary activity is akin to that of a type-writer: each type is clear and well-read, but it's soul-less and boring," served as a leitmotif of the Soviet literary officialdom's view on Merezhkovsky for decades. In the Soviet times the writer was (in the words of
Alexander Men Alexander Vladimirovich Men (russian: Александр Владимирович Мень; 22 January 1935 – 9 September 1990) was a Soviet Russian Orthodox priest, dissident, theologian, biblical scholar and writer on theology, Christian hi ...
) "aggressively forgotten," his works unofficially banned up until the early 1990s, when the floodgate of re-issues opened the way for serious critical analysis of Merezhkovsky's life and legacy.


Select bibliography


Novels

;Christ and Antichrist trilogy * '' The Death of the Gods. Julian the Apostate'' (Christ and Antichrist trilogy, 1895). *'' Resurrection of Gods. Leonardo da Vinci'' (book 2 of the Christ and Antichrist trilogy, 1900).
books.google
* '' Peter and Alexis'' (book 3 of the Christ and Antichrist trilogy, 1904) ;The Kingdom of the Beast * ''Paul I'' (Pavel Pervy, 1908) * ''Alexander the First'' (Аleksandr Pervy, 1913) * ''December 14'' (Chetyrnadtsatoye Dekabrya, 1918)


Non-fiction

* ''On the Causes of the Decline and on the New Trends in Contemporary Russian Literature'' (1892) * ''The Eternal Companions'' (1897) * '' Tolstoy and Dostoevsky'' (1901) * ''The Forthcoming Ham '' (Gryadushchu Ham, 1905) * ''Sick Russia '' (Bolnaya Rossia, 1910) * ''The Birth of Gods. Tutankhamen in Crete'' (1925) * ''Messiah'' (1928) * ''The Mystery of the Three: Egypt and Babylon'' (1925) * ''Mystery of the West: Atlantis-Europe'' (1930) * ''Unknown Jesus'' (1932) * ''Jesus Manifest'' (1935) (1936, First American Edition)


Plays

* ''Sylvio'' (1890) * ''The Storm is Over'' (1893) * ''Poppy Blossom'' (Makov Tzvet, 1908, with Gippius and Filosofov) * ''The Last Saint'' (Posledny Svyatoy, 1908) * '' Pavel the First'' (Pavel Pervy, 1908), part 1 of the Kingdom of the Beast trilogy. * ''Joy Will Come'' (Radost Budet, 1916) * ''The Romantics'' (Romantiki, 1916)


Poetry

* ''Poems (1883–1888)'' * ''Protopop Avvacum'' (1888) * ''Vera'' (1890) * ''The Family Idyll'' (Semeynaya idillia, 1890), * ''Death'' (Smert, 1891) * ''Symbols. Poems and Songs'' (1892) * ''End of the Century'' (Konetz Veka, 1893)


Notes


References


External links

* * * *
Biography
*. * Anatoly Rykov, Rykov, A.
"Twilight of the Silver Age. Politics and the Russian Religious Modernism in D.S.Merezhkovsky's novel Napoleon" in Studia Culturae 2016 № 1 (27), pp. 9–17 (in Russian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merezhkovsky, Dmitry Sergeyevich 1866 births 1941 deaths Writers from Saint Petersburg People from Sankt-Peterburgsky Uyezd Essayists from the Russian Empire Novelists from the Russian Empire Philosophers from the Russian Empire Poets from the Russian Empire Historical novelists Symbolist novelists Symbolist poets Soviet novelists Soviet male writers Saint Petersburg State University alumni Burials at Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery