Author. A leader of the Russian Symbolists. Deeply influenced by religious mysticism, his writings were concerned with the duality of flesh and spirit in human history. Merezhkovsky's major work is "Christ and Antichrist", a trilogy of historical novels comprising the volumes "The Death of the Gods" (1896), "Leonardo Da Vinci" (1901), and "Peter and Alexei" (1905). He also used antithetic analysis in his important critical study "Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky" (1902). His other novels include "Paul I" (1908), "Alexander I of Russia" (1911), and "Decembrists" (1918). Dmitri Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky was born in St. Petersburg and attended the university there. His first book, "Poems", appeared in 1888. The following year he married author Zinaida Gippius, who shared his religious-philosophical ideas, and their literary salon became a focal point for the Symbolists, notably Alexander Blok and Andrei Bely. Sigmund Freud was fascinated by his novels. From 1905 to 1907 the couple lived in exile in Paris for their support of the first Russian Revolution, and they settled there permanently in 1919 because they opposed the Bolsheviks. In "The Kingdom of the Antichrist" (1926) and other polemics Merezhkovsky condemned the new Soviet Union. Towards the end of his life he provoked controversy with his support for Hitler, who he hoped would forcibly rid Russia of Communism.
Author. A leader of the Russian Symbolists. Deeply influenced by religious mysticism, his writings were concerned with the duality of flesh and spirit in human history. Merezhkovsky's major work is "Christ and Antichrist", a trilogy of historical novels comprising the volumes "The Death of the Gods" (1896), "Leonardo Da Vinci" (1901), and "Peter and Alexei" (1905). He also used antithetic analysis in his important critical study "Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky" (1902). His other novels include "Paul I" (1908), "Alexander I of Russia" (1911), and "Decembrists" (1918). Dmitri Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky was born in St. Petersburg and attended the university there. His first book, "Poems", appeared in 1888. The following year he married author Zinaida Gippius, who shared his religious-philosophical ideas, and their literary salon became a focal point for the Symbolists, notably Alexander Blok and Andrei Bely. Sigmund Freud was fascinated by his novels. From 1905 to 1907 the couple lived in exile in Paris for their support of the first Russian Revolution, and they settled there permanently in 1919 because they opposed the Bolsheviks. In "The Kingdom of the Antichrist" (1926) and other polemics Merezhkovsky condemned the new Soviet Union. Towards the end of his life he provoked controversy with his support for Hitler, who he hoped would forcibly rid Russia of Communism.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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