The Image of Vladimir Solovyov in the Literature of the Russian Diaspora: the Specificity of Reception

Author: korolevaNV / Date: 21-06-2026 /
Publication Title: 
The Image of Vladimir Solovyov in the Literature of the Russian Diaspora: the Specificity of Reception
Publication author(s): 
Liudmila Leonidovna Avdeichik
Abstract: 

The article examines the specificity of reception of V.S. Solovyov's image in the literature of the Russian diaspora during the first wave of emigration. The relevance of this study stems from the insufficient knowledge of Solovyov's influence on 20th-century literary development, particularly within the emigrant community, as well as the need to understand the phenomenon of preserving the cultural memory of Silver Age figures outside of Russia. The aim of this study is to identify the specific features of the philosopher's image in the memoir and biographical prose, journalism, and poetry of emigrant writers such as A.A. Saltykov, A.M. Remizov, I.V. Odoevtseva, Z.N. Gippius, B.K. Zaitsev, and Vyach.I. Ivanov. The methodology is based on historical-literary and comparative typological analysis, allowing us to trace the evolution of the authors' receptive strategies. It has been established that, in contrast to the mythologizing and sacralizing tendencies characteristic of the Young Symbolist poets, emigrant literature is dominated by a memoir-documentary approach and an interest in the “living” personality of the philosopher. Genre priorities (memoirs, essays, commemorative articles) are identified, as well as methods of constructing the image, which acquires a polyvariant character in their works – from realistically authentic (A. Saltykov, B. Zaitsev) to mythologized in a modernist style (A. Remizov, Vyach. Ivanov). It is concluded that the reception of Solovyov's legacy in the Russian emigration was subordinated to the general task of preserving cultural continuity and resisting oblivion, which ensured the continued life of Solovyov's discourse in the 20th century.

 

References: 

 (Sources)

Collected Works

  1. Bal'mont, K.D. Vozdushnaya doroga [The Air Road], in Bal'mont, K.D. Polnoe sobranie stikhov v 10 t., t. 4 [Complete Collection of Poems in 10 vols., vol. 4]. Moscow: Izdanie «Skorpion», 1913, p. 118.
  2. Belyy, A. Vladimir Solov'ev [Vladimir Solovyov], in Belyy, A. Polnoe sobranie sochineniy v 2 t., t. 2 [Complete Collection of Poems in 2 vols., vol. 2]. Moscow: Al'fa-kniga, 2011, p. 585.
  3. Belyy, A. Vladimiru Solov'evu [To Vladimir Solovyov], in Belyy, A. Polnoe sobranie sochineniy v 2 t., t. 2 [Complete Collection of Poems in 2 vols., vol. 2]. Moscow: Al'fa-kniga, 2011, pp. 1078–1079.
  4. Blok, A.A. Rytsar'-monakh [The Knight Monk], in Blok, A.A. Sobranie sochineniy v 8 t., t. 5 [Сollected Works in 8 vols., vol. 5]. Moscow; Leningrad, 1962, pp. 446–454.
  5. Blok, A. Cherez peschanye pustyni [Through the Sandy Deserts], in Blok, A. Sobranie sochineniy v 8 t., t. 1. Stikhotvoreniya 1897–1904 godov [Сollected Works in 8 vols., vol. 1. Poems of the 1897–1904].  Moscow: Gosudarstvennoe izdatel'stvo khudozhestvennoy literatury, 1960, p. 472.
  6. Ivanov, V. Аleksandru Bloku [To Aleksandr Blok], in Ivanov, V. Sobranie sochineniy. T. 3 [Сollected Works. Vol. 3]. Brussels: Foyer Oriental Chrétien, 1979. 896 p.
  7. Ivanov, V. Pamyati Vladimira Solov'eva [In Vladimir Solovyov’s Memory], in Ivanov, V. Sobranie sochineniy. T. 3 [Сollected Works. Vol. 3]. Brussels: Foyer Oriental Chrétien, 1971–1987. 1979, p. 621.
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  9. Ivanov, V. Tainnik nochi. Tyutchev nezhnyy [Mystery of the Night. Tyutchev's Tender], in Ivanov, V. Sobranie sochineniy. T. 3 [Сollected Works. Vol. 3]. Brussels: Foyer Oriental Chrétien, 1971–1987. 1979, pp. 633–634.
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Individual works

  1. Avdeychik, L.L. Obraz Vladimira Solov'eva v russkoy literature ХХ–ХХI vekov [The image of Vladimir Solovyov in Russian literature of the 20th–21st centuries], in Solov'evskie issledovaniya, 2019, issue 2(62), pp. 39–51.
  2. Florenskiy, P. Na smert' V. Solov'eva [On the death of V. Solovyov], in Pavel Florenskiy i simvolisty: Opyty literaturnye. Stat'i. Perepiska [Pavel Florenskiy and Symbolism: Literary Experiments. Articles. Correspondence]. Moscow: Yazyki slavyanskoy kul'tury, 2004, p. 126.
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  4. Ivanov, V. O znachenii Vl. Solov'eva v sud'bakh nashego religioznogo soznaniya [On the Significance of Vladimir Solovyov in the Fate of Our Religious Consciousness], in Kniga o Vladimire Solov'eve [A Book about Vladimir Solovyov]. Moscow: Sovetskiy pisatel', 1991, pp. 344–354.
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  8. Saltykov, A.A. Belye kolokol'chiki: Vospominaniya o Vladimire Solov'eve [White Bells: Memories of Vladimir Solovyov], in Vl.S. Solov'ev: pro et contra. T. 1 [Vl.S. Solovyov: Pro et Contra. Vol. 1]. Saint-Petersburg: RKhGI, 2000, pp. 499–503.

(Monographs)

  1. Knigge, A. Die Lirik Vl. Solov’evs und Ihre Nachwirkung bei A. Belyj und A. Blok [The Poetry of Vl. Solovyov and its Influence on A. Bely and A. Blok]. Amsterdam, 1973. 214 p.
  2. Knyazhnin, V.N. Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Blok [Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Blok]. Petersburg: Kolos, 1922. 136 p.
  3. Polonskiy, V.V. Mezhdu traditsiey i modernizmom. Russkaya literatura rubezha ХIХ–ХХ vekov: istoriya, poetika, kontekst [Between Tradition and Modernism. Russian Literature at the Turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries: History, Poetics, and Context]. Moscow: IMLI RAN, 2011. 472 p.
  4. Pyman, A. A History of Russian Symbolism. Cambridge University Press, 1994. 500 p.
  5. Sheremetev, P. Otzvuki rasskazov I.F. Gorbunova [Echoes of Stories by I.F. Gorbunov]. Sankt-Peterburg: Tipografiya M.M. Stasyulevicha, 1901. 146 p.
  6. Solov'ev, S.M. Vladimir Solov'ev: zhizn' i tvorcheskaya evolyutsiya [Vladimir Solovyov: Life and Creative Evolution]. Moscow: Respublika, 1997. 431 p.
  7. Zobin, G.S. Vyacheslav Ivanov: Put' zhizni [Vyacheslav Ivanov: The Path of Life]. Moscow: Molodaya gvardiya, 2022. 415 p.

(Electronic Resources)

  1. Avdeychik, L.L. Sakralizatsiya obraza Vladimira Solov'eva v tvorchestve poetov-mladosimvolistov [Sacralization of the Image of Vladimir Solovyov in the Works of the Young Symbolist Poets], in Dialog epokh v literature [Dialogue of Epoch in Literature]. Minsk: BGU, 2021, pp. 5–20. Available at: https://elib.bsu.by/handle/123456789/273478 (Data obrashcheniya: 23.03.2026).

 

Key words: 
reception of V.S. Solovyov's image in the literature of the Russian diaspora, traditions of the Silver Age, remythologization of the image, phenomenon of cultural memory in literature
2026. Issue 2 (90)
The DOI index: 
10.17588/2076-9210.2026.2.006-022
Publication file: 
str.6-22_90.pdf