Yuly Isayevich Aykhenvald, Aikhenvald, or Eichenwald (russian: Ю́лий Иса́евич Айхенва́льд; 24 January 1872 – 17 December 1928) was a Russian Jewish literary

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...

who developed a native brand of Aestheticism. Russian-American author Vladimir Nabokov called Aykhenvald "a Russian version of Walter Pater".

Life

Aykhenvald was born in

Balta Balta may refer to: People * Balta (footballer) (born 1962), Spanish footballer and manager * Balta (surname) Places * Balta (crater), on Mars * Balta, Mehedinți, Romania *Bâlta, a village in Filiași, Dolj County, Romania *Bâlta, a village ...

, Russian Empire into a

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...

's family and attended the New Russia University 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 ...

, where he developed a lasting interest in Schopenhauer's ideas. After moving to Moscow in 1895, he employed a number of pen-names, including ''Yu. Ald'' () and ''B. Kamenetsky'' (). Aykhenvald followed Schopenhauer in that art is irrational and that the essence of it can be reached only by dint of intuition. He panned most Russian literary critics for applying social and utilitarian criteria to literature and for producing political journalism in the guise of artistic criticism. Following the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

, and the publication of his essay 'Revolution: the leaders and the led' (Revoljucija: ee vozhdi i vedomye'), where he attacked Leon Trotsky personally, Aykhenvald was briefly arrested and then, in 1922, exiled to Germany where he involved himself in several high-profile émigré publications, including the newspaper Rulj. His life was cut short by a

tram accident A tram accident is any accident involving a tram. Alternatively, any accident involving a tram or a tram system may be considered a tram accident. The latter definition is more commonly used in public safety studies. Tram systems are typically c ...

in Berlin. He is buried in the Russian Orthodox cemetery in

Tegel Tegel () is a locality (''Ortsteil'') in the Berlin borough of Reinickendorf on the shore of Lake Tegel. The Tegel locality, the second largest in area (after Köpenick) of the 96 Berlin districts, also includes the neighbourhood of ''Saatwinkel'' ...

, Berlin.

Family

Lev Aikhenvald Lev may refer to: Common uses *Bulgarian lev, the currency of Bulgaria *an abbreviation for Leviticus, the third book of the Hebrew Bible and the Torah People and fictional characters *Lev (given name) *Lev (surname) Places *Lev, Azerbaijan, a ...

(1873–1954), his brother, psychiatrist, author of works on forensic psychiatric examination and organization of psychiatric care. *

Alexander Aikhenvald Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

(1904–1941), his son, an economist and member of Bukharin's school *

Boris Aikhenvald Boris may refer to: People * Boris (given name), a male given name *:''See'': List of people with given name Boris * Boris (surname) * Boris I of Bulgaria (died 907), the first Christian ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire, canonized after his d ...

(1902-1938), his son, a translator and philosopher * Tatiana Aikhenvald (1900-1963), his daughter, a well-known teacher of mathematics *

Yury Aikhenvald Yury, Yuri, Youri, Yurii, Yuriy, Yurij, Iurii or Iouri is the Slavic (russian: Юрий, Yuriy, or uk, Юрій, Yuriy, or bg, Юрий, Jurij, or be, Юры, Jury) form of the masculine given name George; it is derived directly from the Gree ...

(1928–1993), his grandson, a poet, a writer and a dissident * Alexandra Aikhenvald (born 1957), his great-granddaughter, a linguist *

Natalia Shvedova Natalia Yulievna Shvedova (russian: link=no, Ната́лия Ю́льевна Шве́дова, 25 December 1916 – 18 September 2009) was a Soviet lexicographer who authored several standard outlines of Russian grammar, for which she was awar ...

(1916–2009), his natural daughter, a lexicographer and an expert on Russian syntax

Books

*In his best-known book ''Silhouettes of Russian Writers'' (1909) Aykhenvald offers a series of memorable impressionistic sketches of major Russian authors and their works. His argument that Ivan Turgenev was a second-rate writer caused an outcry in the conservative literary circles.

Quotes

*"There are no literary movements, only writers. There is no society, only individuals".Львов-Рогачевский. История литературы и методы ее изучения // Словарь литературных терминов. Т. 1. — 1925
at feb-web.ru

Online resources

Русское зарубежье (Золотая книга эмиграции) Первая треть XX века. Энциклопедический биографический словарь. М., 1997. 748 с.
at apologetika.com

at www.rulex.ru

at www.krugosvet.ru

at www.hrono.ru *

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aykhenvald Yuly 1872 births 1928 deaths People from Balta, Ukraine Ukrainian Jews Russian literary critics Jewish Ukrainian writers Railway accident deaths in Germany Ukrainian literary critics Jewish Russian writers