Dmitry Merezhkovsky

Dmitry Merezhkovsky’s father was a Ukrainian nobleman. Dmitry studied history in St. Petersburg from 1884-89. In 1888, he published his first book of poetry was published, and in the following year, he married the poet Zinaida Gippius (1869-1945). The couple maintained a theological-literary salon in St. Petersburg since 1901 and are considered pioneers of Russian Symbolism.

Mereshkovsky became known for a series of historical novels and novellas. The novel Leonardo da Vinci (1901) was the middle part of the trilogy Christ and Antichrist. It was translated immediately after its publication in Russia and reached high circulation worldwide.

During the October Revolution in 1919, the Mereshkovsky couple emigrated to Warsaw and went on to Paris in 1920. There, they established another literary salon, the “Green Lamp” in 1920. It was considered an influential center of Christian-religious intellectuals. The couple also promoted the young writers of the “Russki Montparnasse”.

Mereshkovsky was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature, but his sympathy for Italian fascism made him hardly eligible. In 1934 and 1936, he was received by Mussolini. Nevertheless, his relationship with Mussolini is controversial among literary historians. He isolated himself among Russian immigrants, however, when he compared Hitler to Joan of Arc.

Mereshkovsky was described as “representing a Christian anti-liberalism”, and he influenced the “Young Right”, particularly in Germany. His work could not be published or staged in Russia until 1987. His brother was the prominent, but also a controversial biologist and botanist Konstantin Mereschkowski (1855-1921).