Страницы из прошлого: Из переписки ЗинаиÐ'Ñ‹ Гиппиус- Leaves from the Past: Selected Correspondence of Zinaid

This book is written in Russian. Zinaida Hippius (1869-1945) belongs to world culture by virtue of her artistic talent and metaphysical philosophy. Since her work represents the current of social, religious, and political thought of the time, her literary legacy is also important for the study of the Russian pre-revolutionary intelligentsia. Hippius can be referred to as one of the formative figures in the progressive and intellectually alert group of Russian intelligentsia at the beginning of the twentieth century. Not only in St. Petersburg, but later in Paris, she stood at the center of Russian literary, intellectual, and cultural activities. She engendered new ideas, took an active part in a spirited exchange of opinion, and played a vital role in the religious renaissance of her country. Continually striving toward a spiritual ideal, she stimulated similar strivings in other writers and thinkers. Her affirmation of life triumphed in almost every situation, regardless of how many disappointments came to her, particularly in her later years. She found strength to endure the sordid and the low and, notwithstanding defeats in almost all of her undertakings, she was able to leave a legacy of belles-lettres, which is among the most original and idealistic in Russian literature.