Merezhkovsky Dmitry Sergeyevich was born in 1866 in St. Petersburg. His father served as a petty palace official. Dmitry Merezhkovsky from the age of 13 began to write poetry. Two years later, as a gymnasium student, he visited with his father F.M. Dostoevsky. The great writer found the poems weak, told the novice author that in order to write well, you need to suffer. At the same time, Dmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky met Nadson. At first, he imitated him in his poems and it was through him that he first entered the literary milieu.
The first collection of poems
In 1888, the first collection of Merezhkovsky was published, simply named - "Poems." The poet here is a student of Nadson. However, as Vyacheslav Bryusov notes, Dmitry Merezhkovsky was immediately able to take an independent tone, starting to talk about joy and strength, unlike other poets who considered themselves Nadson’s disciples who “ached” at their weakness and lack of time.
Studying at universities, passion for the philosophy of positivism
Since 1884, Dmitry studied at St. Petersburg and Moscow universities, at the historical and philological faculties. At this time, Merezhkovsky became interested in the philosophy of positivism, and also became close friends with such members of the Northern Bulletin as G. Uspensky, V. Korolenko, V. Garshin, thanks to which he began to understand the problems facing society from a populist standpoint. This hobby, however, was short-lived. Acquaintance with the poetry of V. Solovyov and European Symbolists significantly changed the poet's worldview. Dmitry Sergeyevich abandons "extreme materialism" and moves on to symbolism.
Marriage to Z. Gippius
Dmitry Merezhkovsky, as contemporaries noted, was a very reserved person, who was reluctant to let other people into his world. The year 1889 became all the more significant for him. It was then that Merezhkovsky married. His chosen one is the poetess Zinaida Gippius. The poet lived with her for 52 years and did not part for a day. This creative and spiritual union of the spouse described him in an unfinished book called "Dmitry Merezhkovsky." Zinaida was a “generator” of ideas, and Dmitry designed and developed them in his work.
Travel, translations, and the rationale for symbolism
In the late 1880s and in the 1890s. they traveled a lot in different countries of Europe. Dmitry Sergeyevich translated ancient tragedies from Latin and Greek, and also acted as a critic, published in such publications as Trud, Russkoye Obozreniye, and Northern Herald.
Merezhkovsky in 1892 gave a lecture in which he gave the first justification of symbolism. The poet argued that impressionism, the language of the symbol, and the “mystical content” can expand the “artistic impressionability” of Russian literature. The collection "Symbols" appeared shortly before this performance. He gave a name to a new direction in poetry.
"New poems"
In 1896, the third collection, New Poems, was published. Merezhkovsky has changed his worldview since 1899. He began to be interested in Christianity issues related to the cathedral church. In the article "Merezhkovsky" G. Adamovich recalls that when the conversation with Dmitry was lively, sooner or later he switched to one topic - the meaning and meaning of the Gospel.
Religious and Philosophical Meetings
The wife of Dmitry Merezhkovsky in the fall of 1901 proposed the idea of creating a special society of people of philosophy and religion to discuss issues of culture and the church. So religious-philosophical collections appeared, famous at the beginning of the last century. Their main theme was the assertion that only on a religious basis can the revival of Russia take place. Until 1903, these meetings were held, with the permission of K.P. Pobedonostsev, Chief Prosecutor of the Synod. Clergy also took part in them. Although Christianity of the "Third Testament" was not adopted, the desire at a critical stage in the development of our country to create a new religious society was understandable and close to contemporaries.
Work on historical prose
Dmitry Merezhkovsky, whose biography interests us, worked a lot on historical prose. He created, for example, the trilogy "Christ and the Antichrist," the main idea of which was the struggle of two principles - Christian and pagan, as well as a call for a new Christianity, in which "heaven is earthly" and "earth is heavenly."
In 1896, the work "Death of the Gods. Julian the Apostate" appeared - the first novel of the trilogy. The second part was published in 1901 ("The Resurrected Gods. Leonardo da Vinci"). The final novel, entitled "The Antichrist. Peter and Alexei" was born in 1905.
"Collection of verses"
The fourth collection of verses was published in 1909. There were few new poems in it, so this book was, rather, an anthology. However, a certain selection of works made by Merezhkovsky gave the collection modernity and novelty. Only works corresponding to the changed views of the author were included in it. Old poems found new meaning.
Merezhkovsky among contemporary poets was sharply isolated. He stood out for expressing general moods in his work, while A. Blok, Andrei Bely, K. Balmont, even touching on “topical” social topics, spoke primarily about themselves, about their own attitude towards them. And Dmitry Sergeyevich, even in the most intimate confessions, expressed universal feeling, hope or suffering.
New works
The Merezhkovskys in March 1906 moved to Paris and lived here until the middle of 1908. In collaboration with D. Filosofov and Z. Gippius Merezhkovsky in 1907 published the book "Le Tsar et la Revolution". He also set about creating the Kingdom of the Beast trilogy based on Russian history from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Dmitry Sergeevich, after the release of the first part of this trilogy (in 1908), was prosecuted. In 1913, the second part of it appeared ("Alexander I"). The last novel, December 14th, was published in 1918 by Dmitry Merezhkovsky.
Sick Russia is a book that appeared in 1910. Its composition included historical and religious articles that were published in 1908 and 1909. in the newspaper Rech.
Wolf's Book Partnership published between 1911 and 1913. A 17-volume collection of his works, and D. Sytin in 1914 released a four-volume. Merezhkovsky's prose was translated into many languages, it was very popular in Europe. In Russia, the works of Dmitry Sergeyevich were severely censored - the writer spoke out against the official church and the autocracy.
Relations with Bolshevism
Merezhkovsky in 1917 still lived in Russia. Therefore, the country was seen on the eve of the revolution in the image of the "coming boor". A little later, having lived in Soviet Russia for two years, he established himself in the opinion that Bolshevism is a moral disease, which is a consequence of the crisis of European culture. The Merezhkovskys hoped that this regime would be overthrown, however, upon learning of the defeat of Denikin in the south and Kolchak in Siberia, they decided to leave Petrograd.
Dmitry Sergeyevich at the end of 1919 obtained the right to read his lectures in parts of the Red Army. In January 1920, he and his wife moved to the territory that was occupied by Poland. The poet lectured in Minsk for Russian immigrants. Merezhkovsky in February moved to Warsaw. Here they are actively engaged in political activities. When Poland signed a peace treaty with Russia, and the couple became convinced that the “Russian cause” in this country was over, they left for Paris. The Merezhkovskys settled in an apartment that had belonged to them since pre-revolutionary times. Here they established old contacts and made new acquaintances with Russian emigrants.
Emigration, the foundation of the Green Lamp
Dmitry Merezhkovsky was inclined to consider emigration as some kind of messianism. He considered himself the spiritual "driver" of the intelligentsia who had found themselves abroad. Merezhkovsky in 1927 organized the religious-philosophical and literary society "Green Lamp". G. Ivanov became its president. The Green Lamp played a prominent role in the intellectual life of the emigration of the first wave, and also brought together the best representatives of the foreign Russian intelligentsia. When the Second World War began, society stopped assemblies (in 1939).
Back in 1927, the Merezhkovsky founded The New Deal, a magazine that lasted only a year. They also participated in the first congress of emigrant writers from Russia, held in September 1928 in Belgrade (it was organized by the Yugoslav government). Merezhkovsky in 1931 was among the applicants for the Nobel Prize, but I. Bunin received it.
Hitler support
Merezhkovsky did not like in the Russian environment. The hostility was largely caused by their support for Hitler, whose regime seemed to them more acceptable than the regime of Stalin. Merezhkovsky in the late 1930s became fascinated by fascism, even met with one of its leaders - Mussolini. He saw in Hitler the deliverer of Russia from communism, which he considered a "moral illness." After Germany attacked the USSR, Dmitry Sergeyevich spoke on German radio. He delivered a speech, "Bolshevism and Humanity," in which he compared Hitler with Joan of Arc. Merezhkovsky said that this leader could save humanity from communist evil. After this speech, everyone turned away from the spouses.
The death of Merezhkovsky
10 days before the German occupation of Paris, in June 1940, Zinaida Gippius and D. Merezhkovsky moved to Biarritz, located in southern France. December 9, 1941 Dmitry Sergeevich died in Paris.
Collections of poems Merezhkovsky
We briefly talked about the collections of poems created by Dmitry Merezhkovsky. These books, however, are worth dwelling on in more detail. Each of the 4 collections of poems is very characteristic.
"Poems" (1888) is a book in which Dmitry Merezhkovsky also appears as a student of Nadson. Quotes from it worthy of attention include the following:
"Do not despise the crowds! Ruthless and angry
Taunt them not to stigmatize their sorrows and needs. "
These are lines from one of the most characteristic poems of this book. Nevertheless, from the very beginning Dmitry Sergeyevich was able to take an independent tone. As we have already noted, he spoke of strength and joy. His poems are pompous, rhetorical, but this is also characteristic, since Nadson's associates were most afraid of rhetoric, although they used it in a slightly different guise, sometimes immoderately. Merezhkovsky turned to rhetoric in order to break the soundless, colorless fog, into which the life of Russian society in the 1880s was wrapped, by its sonority and brightness.
Symbols is the second book of poems written in 1892. It is notable for its versatility. Here the ancient tragedy and Pushkin, Baudelaire and Edgar Poe, Francis of Assisi and ancient Rome, the poetry of the city and the tragedy of everyday life. Everything that will fill all the books, will occupy all minds in 10-15 years, was outlined in this collection. "Symbols" is a book of forebodings. Dmitry Sergeevich predicted the onset of a different, more lively era. He gave a titanic look to the events taking place around him ("Come, new prophets!").
New Poems is the third collection of poems written in 1896. It is much narrower in its coverage of the phenomena of life than the previous one, but much more acute. Here the tranquility of the “Symbols” turned into constant alarm, and the objectivity of the verses turned into tense lyricism. Merezhkovsky considered himself in "Symbols" a servant of "abandoned gods." But by the time the New Poems appeared, he had already renounced these gods himself, and spoke of his comrades-in-arms and of himself: "Our speeches are bold ...".
"Collection of poems" - the last, fourth collection (1909). It has few new poems, so the book, as we have already noted, is rather an anthology. Merezhkovsky in it turned to Christianity. He recognized the blade of “boldness” as too fragile and the altar of “world culture” devoid of deity. However, in Christianity, he wanted to find not only comfort, but also weapons. All poems in this book are imbued with a desire for faith.