Ivan Vasil'evich Kireevsky
Ivan Vasil'evich Kireevsky was a notable Russian writer and publisher, born on March 22, 1806, in Moscow. Although he did not produce a vast literary corpus, his critical writings significantly influenced the development of Russian Slavophilism, a cultural and philosophical movement emphasizing Russian identity and Orthodox Christianity. Kireevsky's education was heavily influenced by his noble background and the mentorship of his mother’s uncle, the poet Vasilii Zhukovsky. He initially worked as a civil servant before dedicating himself to literature, publishing his first critical study on Alexander Pushkin's poetry in 1828.
Kireevsky founded the journal "Evropeets," which explored the relationship between Russia and Western Europe, but faced government censorship early in its run. His marriage to Natal'ia Arbeneva marked a turning point in his life, leading to his conversion to the Russian Orthodox Church and a temporary uplift from personal struggles. His later writings, particularly a significant three-part essay on modern Russian literature and a posthumously published work discussing the need for new philosophical beginnings, illustrate his belief in the philosophical independence of Russian culture from Western influences. Kireevsky's thoughts on Orthodox theology and critiques of European rationality became foundational for later Russian literary figures, including Fyodor Dostoevski.
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Ivan Vasil'evich Kireevsky
Literary Critic
- Born: March 22, 1806
- Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
- Died: June 12, 1856
- Place of death: St. Petersburg, Russia
Biography
Although writer and publisher Ivan Vasil’evich Kireevsky did not leave behind a large body of work, his critical articles on literature, religion, history, and philosophy laid the groundwork for Russian Slavophilism. Kireevsky was born in Moscow on March 22, 1806, to Vasilii Ivanovich Kireevsky and Avdot’ia Petrovna Iushkova, both from well-educated and noble Russian families. After Kireevsky’s father died from typhoid in 1812, contracted while serving as a doctor during the Napoleonic Wars, his mother’s uncle, the poet Vasilii Andreevich Zhukovsky, took an interest in his education. Kireevsky studied Greek, Latin, literature, law, and political economy privately at Moscow University. He worked as a civil servant in the archives department of the Foreign Ministry from 1824 to 1828, at which point he resigned to pursue a literary career.
His first critical study, “Nechto o kharaktere poezii Pushkina,” about the poetry of Alexander Pushkin, appeared in the journal Moskovskii vestnik in 1828. Shortly thereafter another article demonstrating Kireevsky’s inclination towards encyclopedic criticism, “Obozrenie russkoi slovesnosti za 1829 god,” a survey of Russian literature in 1829, was published. Following a ten-month stay in Germany, Kireevsky founded the journal Evropeets, which included articles by its editor on the necessary relationship between Russia and Western Europe. Government suppression of the journal after only two issues led Kireevsky to retire to the country for six years. One of the two essays he published during this time, “O russkikh pisatel’nitsakh” (1834), was the first devoted entirely to Russian women writers.
Kireevsky’s marriage to Natal’ia Petrovna Arbeneva in 1834 was crucial in helping him rise out of his depression; it also resulted in his conversion to the Russian Orthodox Church. The couple had six children, three daughters, Ekaterina, Aleksandra, and Maria, and three sons, Nikolai, Vasilii, and Sergei. In 1845, Kireevsky briefly returned to journalism, joining the editorial staff at Moskvitianin. Here he published an important three-part essay, “Obozrenie sovremennogo russkoi literatury,” a survey of the state of modern literature, in which he advocated the philosophical liberation of Russian culture from that of Western Europe by Christian Slavs. Kireevsky goes further in his last article, “O neobkhodimosti i vosmoshnosti novykh nachal dlia filosophii,” published posthumously in 1856, proposing that Western culture renounce the Roman Catholic Church. While censorship prevented Kireevsky from writing more during his life, his ideas about Orthodox theology and the dangers of European rationality are evident in the works of such literary successors as Fyodor Dostoevski.