Razumnik Vasilyevich Ivanov-Razumnik (real surname - Ivanov; Разумник Васильевич Иванов-Разумник; 24 December 1878, 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 ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, then
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
– 9 July 1946, in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
) was a Soviet
Russian writer
Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia and its émigrés and to Russian-language literature. The roots of Russian literature can be traced to the Middle Ages, when epics and chronicles in Old East Slavic were composed. By the Ag ...
,
philosopher
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
and
literary critic
Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...
, best known for his book ''History of Russian Social Thought'' (1907, in two volumes) and the series of essays on post-Revolution literary life in the Soviet Russia.
Biography
Razumnik Vasilyevich Ivanov was born in Tiflis, Georgia to a family of impoverished Russian nobleman. After graduating the 1st Saint Petersburg gymnasium he joined the faculty of Mathematics at
Saint Petersburg University
Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the G ...
. In 1901 for taking part in the students' unrest he was arrested, expelled and a year later deported from the capital to
Simferopol
Simferopol () is the second-largest city in the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. However, ...
.
Ivanov-Razumnik's first article (on
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 belo ...
) was published in ''
Russkaya Mysl'' in 1904. His ''History of Russian Social Thought'' in two volumes came out in 1907 and became popular with the Russian left. In 1912 Ivanov-Razumnik joined the staff of
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, ...
magazine ''Zavety'' (Testaments) where he became the head of a literary department and friends with
Sergey Mstislavsky,
Victor Chernov
Viktor Mikhailovich Chernov (russian: Ви́ктор Миха́йлович Черно́в; December 7, 1873 – April 15, 1952) was a Russian revolutionary and one of the founders of the Russian Socialist-Revolutionary Party. He was the primar ...
and several other authors, members of the
Socialist Revolutionary party
The Socialist Revolutionary Party, or the Party of Socialist-Revolutionaries (the SRs, , or Esers, russian: эсеры, translit=esery, label=none; russian: Партия социалистов-революционеров, ), was a major politi ...
.
In 1916 Ivanov-Razumnik became the leader of a literary group (including, among others,
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 ...
,
Alexander Blok
Alexander Alexandrovich Blok ( rus, Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Бло́к, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ ˈblok, a=Ru-Alyeksandr Alyeksandrovich Blok.oga; 7 August 1921) was a Russian lyrical poet, writer, publ ...
,
Sergey Yesenin
Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin ( rus, Сергей Александрович Есенин, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ jɪˈsʲenʲɪn; ( 1895 – 28 December 1925), sometimes spelled as Esenin, was a Russian lyric poet. He is one o ...
,
Nikolay Klyuev
Nikolai Alekseevich Klyuev ( rus, Николай Алексеевич Клюев, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ ˈklʲʉjɪf; 22 October 1884 – 23/25 October 1937), was a notable Russian poet. He was influenced by the symbolist mo ...
and
Olga Forsh
Olga Dmitryevna Forsh (russian: О́льга Дми́триевна Форш, ), née Komarova (russian: Комаро́ва) (July 17, 1961), was a Russian/Soviet novelist, dramatist, memoirist, and scenarist.
Early life
Forsh was born in the for ...
) which later became known as ''Skify'' (
Scythians
The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern
* : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved f ...
), after the eponymous anthology which came out in 1917. For the second ''Skify'' book which came out in 1918 Ivanov-Razumnik wrote a programme-setting article called "The Two Russias".
Ivanov-Razumnik accepted the October 1917 revolution wholeheartedly, in fact, he took part in the coup and was in the
Smolny
Smolny is a place name in central Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is a compound of historically interrelated buildings erected in 18th and 19th centuries. As the most widely known of the buildings, the Smolny Institute, has been used as the seat of t ...
from 26th to 28 October. As the SR party broken into two, he continued to actively cooperate with its left flank, for which he was arrested by
Cheka
The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə), abbreviated ...
in February 1919, but released on instructions from
Felix Dzerhinsky. He was the literary section editor of ''Znamya Truda'' (Flag of Labour), which belonged to the Left Socialist Revolutionary Party (PLSR), and literary section chief of ''Nash Put'' (Our Way), and made it sure that
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 ...
,
Alexander Blok
Alexander Alexandrovich Blok ( rus, Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Бло́к, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ ˈblok, a=Ru-Alyeksandr Alyeksandrovich Blok.oga; 7 August 1921) was a Russian lyrical poet, writer, publ ...
and
Sergey Yesenin
Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin ( rus, Сергей Александрович Есенин, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ jɪˈsʲenʲɪn; ( 1895 – 28 December 1925), sometimes spelled as Esenin, was a Russian lyric poet. He is one o ...
were published there regularly.
In 1919–1925 he was among the leaders (a vice-chairman) of the Free Philosophical Association, bound to "investigate philosophical aspects of culture and creativity in the Socialist society." In 1933, he was accused of propagating the
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, ...
ideas, arrested and deported to Siberia for three years, living in poverty and without proper work. He was arrested and exiled again in September 1937, but released in 1939.
After his release he obtained work in the State Museum of Literature in
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, ...
, near Leningrad (St Petersburg) and was there when the town was overrun by the German army, in September 1941. The following month, he was sent to a camp in
Eastern Prussia
East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871 ...
where he stayed up until the summer of 1943. After the liberation he moved first to
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
, then back to
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
where he settled to write about his life in the Soviet Union (''Life in Prisons and Exile'') and published essays on Soviet authors (''The Writers' Fates''). On 9 July 1946 Razumnik Ivanov-Razumnik died in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
, Germany.
Ideas
Ivanov-Razumnik developed his own system of literary analysis, dividing the history of modern Russian literature into several periods marked by ideological paradigms: the "mystical theory of progress" (1820-1830), then the "positive theory of progress" (1840s), "immanent subjectivism" (
Hertzen
Alexander Ivanovich Herzen (russian: Алекса́ндр Ива́нович Ге́рцен, translit=Alexándr Ivánovich Gértsen; ) was a Russian writer and thinker known as the "father of Russian socialism" and one of the main fathers of agra ...
, 1850s), "vulgar immanent subjectivism" (
utilitarianism
In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals.
Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different charact ...
,
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 Ivan ...
, 1860s), "immanent subjectivism" again (Lavrov and Mikhaylovsky, narodniks; 1870s), the revived "positive theory of progress" (Russian
Marxism
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
, 1890s), the return of "mystical theory of progress" (1900s) and again return to "immanent subjectivism" (1910s onwards).
According to Ivanov-Razumnik, immanent subjectivism (which he saw himself as belonging to) "rejected the objective expediency, objective meaning of life and gives priority to the subjective systems of reasonability, declaring man as the one subjective goal of development." For meaning of life it holds achieving "the fullness of being", comprising so called 'elements of reality': 'reality of senses', 'reality of beauty', 'reality of justice' and 'reality of truth').
Warning against the misinterpretation of the term, Ivanov-Razumnik wrote in ''The History of Russian Social Thinking'': "The Subjectivism is neither a method nor a means to an end, it is a kind of sociological mindset, in fact, not only sociological, but epistemological, psychological and ethical. Subjectivism might be defined as the ethical and sociological individualism." "The immanent subjectivism amounts to a vigorous, active mindset charged with vitality and giving to both an individual and humanity as a whole a new, subjectively-orientated meaning of life," he stated in another work, "Of the Life’s Meaning" (1910).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivanov-Razumnik, Razumnik
1878 births
1946 deaths
Essayists from the Russian Empire
Saint Petersburg State University alumni
Literary critics from the Russian Empire
Soviet emigrants to Germany
Soviet literary historians
Soviet male writers
Soviet essayists