The “New People” of Decadence in Eastern Europe

This article discusses the interdependent notions of “decadent” and “new” in Russian and Ukrainian writers at the fin de siècle. Eastern European decadence is located at the intersection of not only gender and temporal perspectives, but also spatial ones created by the impact of the colonial situation on the culture of the region. The analysis is not limited to decadent works by such Russian authors as Zinaida Gippius and Leonid Andreyev, but also includes Ukrainian writing produced at the peripheries of the Russian and Astro-Hungarian Empires by Volodymyr Vynnychenko and Olha Kobylianska, who explore androgyny, cross-gendering, and new forms of female intimacy. By looking beyond the imperial Russian capitals of Moscow and St. Petersburg to examine the “new people” of decadence, this chapter decenters traditional views of the region to draw a less predictable landscape of Eastern European literature.

Wspominane, wyobrażone, przesunięte. Rosja i Francja w emigracyjnej korespondencji Zinaidy Gippius

The topic of this article are the letters of Zinaida Gippius from 1920-1945, which permit one to read the images of Russia and France contained therein as the result of the emigration experience. The analysis of correspondence leads to the conclusion that emigration shapes the identity of the writer, who over the years begins to perceive France as her new home and new homeland. However, in creating her autobiographical place, Gippius does not limit herself to one model. In her correspondence permanently there is a tension between Russian and French fate. Next to the aforementioned and Bolshevik Russia there is the picture of a new, imaginary Russia: free, just, based on the principles of brotherhood.

THE GOSPEL TRADITION OF NUMBER SYMBOLISM IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY RUSSIAN POETRY

The article discusses the issues of studying and interpreting number symbolism in a literary work and characteristics of gospel number symbolism in the Christian context. In 20th-century Russian literature, the Christian tradition had a decisive impact on shaping the meaning of number symbolism. An important feature of the Christian symbolism of numbers is the correlation of number symbolism with two spheres, which can be designated as “positive” (sacral) and “negative” (sinful). The author proposes a methodology for interpreting number symbolism, which comprises three stages: 1) a description of the numbers in a literary text, 2) the correlation of these numbers with the tradition of number symbolism, 3) the interpretation of the meaning of number symbolism, which is an integral part of literary work. The article also distinguishes between two concepts — that of the number image and of the image of number, and substantiates the differences in interpretation of such images. Theoretical notions are supported by the interpretation of number symbolism in the poems of Boris Pasternak, Zinaida Gippius and Alexander Blok, where it is presented explicitly. Other images, motifs and concepts presented in the literary works augmented and added complexity to the tradition of gospel number symbolism in the poems of these authors.

Yu. A. Sidorov and Mystical Anarchism (on the basis of lifetime publications)

Based on two only lifetime publications, the paper examines the history of Yu. A. Sidorov`s (1887–1909) perception and discussion of ideas of the “mystical anarchism”. In the almanac Chrysopras (1906) Sidorov published two poems that were obviously influenced by the slogans of this movement. I study parallels between these debut poems and the texts of authors related to the movement, in particular, between the poem Dreamer, you sent a revelation to the world… and Georgy Chulkov's article On the confirmation of personality (1906). The study proves that a number of young writers (not only Yu. Sidorov, but also V. Grigoriev, E. Kazakov) were striving to declare their solidarity with slogans of the moment on the pages of the almanac Chrysopras, ideologically close to the Moscow Vesy. In the second lifetime publication, his review (Russkaya Mysl, 1, 1909) on the book of essays by Chulkov The Cover of Isis (1908), Sidorov showed new sharply critical and subverting attitude to the movement. I try to find the reason for Sidorov's new skeptical position to these principles and slogans. The paper showed it to be the poet’s disappointment with the results of the 1905–1907 revolution and his turn towards monarchist sentiments, with subsequent support of the ideology within symbolism that was promoted by the Moscow magazine Vesy. The author pays particular attention to the parallels between Sidorov's polemic attacks against Chulkov and similar invectives against him by the Vesy magazine collaborators (Zinaida Gippius, Andrey Bely, Boris Sadovskoy, etc.)

Zinaida Gippius: Antysemityzm?

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The Merezhkovskys’ Paris library: Description of printed materials in Russian

The material provides a detailed description of 14 files corresponding to 14 titles of the Russian-language prints from Zinaida Gippius and Dmitry Merezhkovsky Paris library sold to the National Library of France (BnF) by Vladimir Zlobin. The description is an annex to the article “Zinaida Gippius reading works from her Paris library” published in issue 14 of Literaturnyi Fakt (2019). All prints are presented in alphabetical order. Each entry contains detailed bibliographic data supplemented by the book or magazine issue code in the BnF catalog, as well as the inventory number and the price from the inventory, which records the act of acquiring the Merezhkovskys’ library by the BNF. In order to introduce Merezhkovskys' notes into scientific circulation as fully as possible, the description systematically gives the pages and lines marked by the spouses and all the textual and non-textual annotations of the owners. The graphic characteristics of the notes (color, means — ink, pencil, etc.) are also reproduced, making it possible to transmit Merezhkovskys’ multi-layer notes with great precision. The description is particularly useful for the study of Merezhkovskys' creative method and journalism, as well as for the biography reconstruction.

В.В. РОЗАНОВ О Д.С. МЕРЕЖКОВСКОМ И НЕ ТОЛЬКО: К ИСТОРИИ ДВУХ РАЗГОВОРОВ

The paper analyzes an article by Vassily Rosanov “Representatives of the ‘new religious consciousness” (1908). The article was published under the pseudonym of V. Varvarin in the newspaper Russkoe slovo (“Russian Word”), it was written in the unusual for Rosanov form of half-fiction. The article describes the ten years ago events which became turning points for the Rosanov’s world view. Those events were the acquaintance with Dmitry Merezhkovsky and Zinaida Gippius and two conversations about Christianity. Actually, in that article Rosanov reconstructed in details stages of changing his worldview and perception of religion. Notably the decadents and their unorthodox religiosity, debates with positivism, constant stylistic experiments became to him the nearest in thoughts. In the years 1896–1897 Rosanov changed his view upon the gender, marriage, correlations between New and Old Testaments. Rosanov tries to remind in his article about the early century discussions. That is why he opted for the form of estranged narration on himself as a major representatives the new trend of religious seeking. The paper also analyzes as the very mechanism of self-representation and also its purposes and results.

CREATIVE WORK OF ANTON CHEKHOV IN THE ASSESSMENT OF DMITRY FILOSOFOV (based on reviews and articles of the 1900s)

The article discusses the system of ratings, Anton Chekhov’s creative work, developed in the reviews and articles of Dmitry Filosofov of the 1900s. The features of his critical method, which were realised during this period, are characterised. It is proved that Dmitry Filosofov perceives Anton Chekhov’s work as the artistic peak of Russian literature of the early 20th century and at the same time as a certain limit in its movement. It is noted that using the principle of «in occasion of criticism» in his own way, he refracts the traditions of Vissarion Belinsky, Nikolay Dobrolyubov, Nikolay Chernyshevsky, Apollon Grigoryev. It is argued that the tendency to think in antinomies, manifested in the works of Dmitry Filosofov on Anton Chekhov in the 1900s, connects him with Dmitry Merezhkovsky. An important role in the formation of philosophical assessments of Anton Chekhov’s creative work is played by the antinomies «Chekhov and Chekhovism», «Everyday tragedy and everyday heroism». They perform the function of bonds, connecting reviews and articles of this critic in a kind of «Chekhov» cycle. Dmitry Filosofov was one of the fi rst to use the antinomy «Chekhov and Chekhovism» in his works, which later became a constant in criticising the Fin de Siècle as a whole. Assessments of Anton Chekhov’s artistic heritage, concentrated in reviews and articles by Dmitry Filosofov of the 1900s, are focused on dialogue with statements by contemporaries – Dmitry Merezhkovsky, Zinaida Gippius, Vasily Rozanov. In an indirect form, they broadcast the ideas of building a «new religious consciousness». But at the same time, Dmitry Filosofov not only illustrates other people’s critical concepts, but also opens up new facets of Anton Chekhov’s work.