Sergei Mikhailovich Solov'ev
Sergei Mikhailovich Solov'ev was a Russian poet and theologian, born on December 13, 1885, in Moscow into a family with a strong academic and artistic legacy. His father, an educator, translated Plato into Russian, while his mother was a painter and translator, fostering a creative environment. Solov'ev had notable familial connections, including a famed historian grandfather and a philosopher uncle, Vladimir Sergeevich Solov'ev, who influenced his early intellectual pursuits. He began his literary career with a verse collection in 1907, although critics offered mixed reviews, reflecting the challenges of a budding poet.
Tragedy struck early in his life with the deaths of both parents, which profoundly affected him; however, he continued his education and graduated from Moscow University in 1911. His personal life included a tumultuous love affair and subsequent marriage that ended in disillusionment, leading him to explore theological studies and eventually become an ordained priest in the Orthodox Church. Following the 1917 October Revolution, Solov'ev struggled to navigate life under a repressive regime, leading to a decline in his mental health. He passed away on March 2, 1942, under mysterious circumstances, and his burial site in Kazan has since been forgotten. His life reflects the intersection of artistic ambition, personal tragedy, and spiritual inquiry during a tumultuous period in Russian history.
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Sergei Mikhailovich Solov'ev
Writer
- Born: December 13, 1885
- Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
- Died: March 2, 1942
Biography
Sergei Mikhailovich Solov’ev was born on December 13, 1885, in Moscow. His family was already well-known for their academic and artistic achievements, so it was a given that he would go into some branch of the arts. His father was an educator who had translated Plato into Russian, while his mother was a painter and translator who maintained a lively correspondence with her cousin, the mother of poet Aleksandr Blok. As a result, Solov’ev and Blok were close friends from their earliest years.
Sergei was named for his paternal grandfather, the famous historian, and his paternal uncle was Vladimir Sergeevich Solov’ev, the philosopher and poet. His other uncle, Vsevolod, wrote a large number of historical novels. His aunt won some fame as a poet under the pen name of Allegro. By the age of thirteen, Solov’ev was having intense discussions with his uncle Vladimir about the Sophia, the divine wisdom that was so central to the latter’s philosophy. He was also helping proofread his grandfather’s writings for publication.
Solov’ev attended a private high school run by Lev Polivanov, where he became acquainted with Boris Bugaev, who later gained fame under the pseudonym of Andrei Bely. In 1903, his father died of pneumonia and his mother subsequently committed suicide out of grief. Although deprived of both his parents, Solov’ev was not completely bereft of hope, for the rest of his family made sure he was able to continue his education.
In 1907, he published his first verse collection, which showed a link to the Metaphysical poetry of a century earlier, when Russian writers were first finding their literary feet. However, the collection’s quality was uneven, not uncommon in a beginning poet. Critics gave him conflicting responses about its worth. Bely praised it, while Blok savaged it.
In his next book, Solov’ev responded to his critics, as well as producing new poetry and prose. In 1911, Solov’ev completed his studies at Moscow University, earning a degree in philology and history. He was involved in a painful love affair with the actress Sofia Giatsinova, which led him to attempt suicide. He was put in a private clinic, where he made a steady recovery, subsequently marrying Tatiana Alekseevna Turgeneva, a distant relation to the novelist Ivan Turgenev. They honeymooned in Italy and the experience led Solov’ev to write further poetry.
Solov’ev became interested in the possibility of reunion of the Catholic and Orthodox churches, which he came to regard as inevitable. He began to study theology and was ordained a priest in the Orthodox Church (in Orthodoxy married men can be ordained to the white, or parish priesthood, but cannot subsequently remarry if their wife dies). After the February, 1917, Revolution he supported the provisional government, but when the Bolsheviks overthrew it in October of 1917, he saw the event as the harbringer of catastrope. However, he did not flee abroad, and struggled to survive under a hostile atheistic regime.
His marriage ultimately failed, and he shifted to the Eastern- Rite Catholic Church. Throughout the 1920’s and 1930’s, he survived the attacks on religion, but by the close of the 1930’s the strain had taken its toll and he was placed in a mental clinic. On March 2, 1942, he died under mysterious circumstances. He was buried in Kazan and the exact location of his grave has been forgotten.