Varvara Malakhieva-Mirovichʼs eternal and ephemera

Рецензия на книгу: Малахиева-Мирович В.Г. Маятник жизни моей: 1930–1954. М.: АСТ, 2016. 893 с.

Abstract

Diary of a poet, essayist, philosopher and translator Varvara Malakhieva-Mirovich is an interesting evidence of an entire epoch of Russian history and culture. Like many of her coevals-intellectuals she was close to the Narodnaya Volya in her youth and later she chummed up with the decadents and writers and philosophers of Russian religious-philosophical renaissance. In different periods of her life she was fond of theosophy, Tolstoyʼs teaching, heresies and sectarianism, Shestovʼs philosophy and nietzscheism. Mirovichʼs notes is a diary with observations, reflections on the present and momentary, memoirs, reviews of books and plays, penitential confession and prayer, poetry and conversations with long-dead people. A significant part of the diary is dedicated to the memory of Shestov who left an imprint on the Mirovichʼs world view and life: most important of Shestovʼs ideas to her are “the creation out of nothing”, “the seventh day of creation” and the hopelessness as a wellspring of hope. At the core of Mirovichʼs worldview lies Manichean opposition between light and dark forces, which she identifies with spirit and matter. In contrast to this-worldly Shestovʼs philosophy death in the context of such dualism is regarded as redemption and liberation from matter and embodiment, and life is as preparation for the afterlife. Her notes give us an idea of the context of the era in which were immersed writers and thinkers from her environment: L. Shestov, D. Andreev, L. Tolstoy, G. Chulkov, P. Florensky, A. Remizov, M. Gershenson and others.