Andrei Bely (1880–1934)
Author of Petersburg
About the Author
A symbolist poet, Andrei Bely was also a literary critic and theorist and one of the most important figures in twentieth-century Russian fiction. His Petersburg (1916-35) is one of the century's great novels. He initially studied science but had begun his literary career even before graduation. His show more early poetry was shaped by mystical beliefs associated with the concept of the Divine Wisdom, beliefs shared by Aleksandr Blok and other younger symbolist poets. In later years, Bely was deeply affected by the German anthroposophist Rudolf Steiner, whom he began to follow in 1912. Blok's writings from that time on bear the imprint of his commitment to Steiner's teachings. Bely's prose continued the stylistic traditions of Nikolai Gogol, about whose work he wrote. Brilliantly innovative in language, composition, and subject matter, Bely's fiction had a great impact on early Soviet literature. His novels The Silver Dove (1910), and St. Petersburg (1913) deal with Russian history in broad cultural perspective, focusing especially on East-West opposition. Kotik Letaev (1918), anticipated stream-of-consciousness techniques in Western fiction in its depiction of the psyche of a developing infant. The Christened Chinaman (1927), an autobiographical novel, is also highly innovative in its language and three-level narrative. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: ca. 1910s
Series
Works by Andrei Bely
Selected essays of Andrey Bely 4 copies
Поэзия слова; О смысле познания 3 copies
Стихотворений и поэмы, том 2 1 copy
Стихотворения и поэмы, том 1 1 copy
Стихи, поэма, в двух книгах 1 copy
Simbolizam 1 copy
geheime aufzeichnungen 1 copy
Арабески 1 copy
Versuri 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Bugaev, Boris Nikolayevich
- Other names
- Белый, Андрей
- Birthdate
- 1880-10-26
- Date of death
- 1934-01-08
- Burial location
- Novodevichy Cemetery, Moscow, Russia
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- Russian Empire (birth)
- Country (for map)
- Russia
- Birthplace
- Moscow, Russian Empire
- Place of death
- Moscow, Soviet Union
- Places of residence
- Moscow, USSR
Germany
Switzerland - Education
- University of Moscow
- Occupations
- novelist
poet
literary critic
Librarian - Relationships
- Bugaev, Nikolai Vasilievich (father)
Dmitrievna, Aleksandra (mother)
Turgeneva, Asya (wife)
Vasilieva, Klavdiya (wife) - Organizations
- Free Philosophical Society
House of Arts
Academy of Spiritual Culture
Members
Discussions
Bely's Petersburg in Fans of Russian authors (July 2019)
Reviews
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 68
- Also by
- 7
- Members
- 1,940
- Popularity
- #13,261
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 26
- ISBNs
- 190
- Languages
- 15
- Favorited
- 14
- Touchstones
- 64
I enjoyed Petersburg. Really. It is, I think unarguably, a very dense work, though, and a fair amount of work on the part of the reader. I will say, however, that the narrative is mostly very clear. Indeed, sometimes I think Bely was trying to be purposefully obtuse. Still, though I started it with great apprehension, I did enjoy it and I would recommend it.… (more)