KONDRATIEV Alexander

Kondratiev, ALEXANDER A. (1876-1967) - writer, poet, translator, critic, literary critic, memoirist. Born May 24, 1876 in St. Petersburg. He studied at the school, whose director was a poet Ann I.. Lessons Annenskogo turned into ministry culture, understood as part of the human soul. At the insistence of his father, who served as director of the State Printing House, Kondratiev entered the law faculty of St. Petersburg University. Later, he regretted that he could not listen to lectures on history and philology faculty. The first publication of his poems - in 1899 in the 'picturesque Revue', with the prose in the press in 1901. Write started in high school, print - a student. One of the first people he met at university, was A. Block. Together with the Bloc participated in the student circle of 'Friends of pure poetry', led by assistant professor BV Nikolsky. Disagreement with the aesthetic views of the latter led to the emergence of 'Society of Young Art', free of any mentoring. Action Team made Kondratiev, Block, Piast, Gorodetsky. An event in the life of 'the Company' was the publication of the first book Kondratieff Poems AK, modestly signed by initials, apparently in imitation of I. Annensky, a year earlier issues its "Quiet Song" for the signature of 'Nick. T-o '. Brousov in a review book predicted that "for Mr.. AK. as a poet has a future ', and invited to cooperate in the Kondratieff' Libra '. Another suggestion was followed from the magazine 'New Path', where the first violin playing Merezhkovsky. In the Editorial 'New Way' Kondratiev met Vyach.Ivanovym. He began visiting him on 'The Tower' as they called his apartment, where the assembled poets, philosophers, artists, and where it was founded 'Academy of verse'. Intensive circle life contributed to the fact that the entire Silver Age Kondratiev knew personally. He regularly visited and evenings F. Sologub. There, he read his brilliant translation of "Songs of Bilitis" by Pierre Louis, a writer of 'Modern Greek direction', to which he belonged himself Kondratiev. It should be mentioned also participated in a crowded Kondratieff 'Society of memory Slichevski'.

He was close to the Symbolists, but he himself can only be called a symbolist subject. Near him were the poets of the XIX century - Tolstoy, Shcherbina, Mei, Maikov, Buturlin. 'Of course, you can compile a long list of poets of Russian and French, have been influential, it being too obvious, the poetry Kondratieff', - said Bryusov in connection with the release of a collection Kondratieff "Black Venus". The best in the book were anthological poems, t. e. written in the style and manner of Greek antiquity. 'U A. Kondratiev - wrote Sergey Soloviev - undoubted talent, fresh and bright: He has already captivated us Satiressa mythological novel, where much of pagan sensuality and brilliance: A new book makes an excellent impression Kondratieff. Feels that the poet is deeply fond of Greece - this mother of muses - without the understanding and study of which is hardly possible now poetry '. Neoellinizmu then paid tribute to many (Ann, V. Ivanov, Skaldin, S. Soloviev, Gumilev), but no one was devoted to this literary movement as fully as Kondratiev. His translations Tracks Bilitis (1907), the novel "Satiressa" (1907), collections of short stories "White Goat" (1908) and "Smile Asherah" (1911), a dramatic sketch "Elena" - all of these books should be attributed to the direction of modern Greek. But in the "Black Venus", except anthological, we find a poem, inspired by folklore and pave the way for Slavic gods - book Kondratieff published in exile.

In pre-revolutionary years Kondratiev occupied a prominent place in the literature. It is seen as scholar of mythology, as a subtle stylist. Gumilev in revocation of a modern collection of poems, released with a foreword by Kondratiev, wrote that to his complete and stylistically refined article 'is hard to add something'. Brousov about the stories "Smile Asherah" said that the book encouraged the perfection of language, perhaps the best Russian language in modern prose.

Main historical and literary work of Kondratiev - the book "The Count AK Tolstoy" (1912). The identity of this poet to Kondratieff 'ideal of nobility, truth and sincerity'. He was drawn to Alexei Tolstoy things: made poetry of antiquity, heroic ballads, the cult of liberty, historical world 'as a confession of his poetic catechism'.

For many years, Kondratiev served as clerk in the Office of the State Duma. 'Through my service rooms were speaking with me and with me, many leaders of the revolution'. And the February Revolution itself, he could see in their service - in the Tauride and the Mariinsky Palace. He believed that the revolution was made by small groups of left-wing Duma members, dishonestly, without a vote. Fragmentary recollections of those historic days are contained in his letters (in particular, in letters to Amfiteatrov - 'New Journal', kn.181, 182, 1990).

A few weeks after the October Revolution Kondratyev ever left St. Petersburg, first in Yalta, and from there the autumn of 1918 in Volhynia in the estate half a mile from the ancient village of Dorogobuzh. In 1920, Volhynia was occupied by Poland. Kondratiev bitter joke: I'm not left Russia - Russia had left me. On the outskirts of Dorogobuzh in solitude and poverty, he continued the literary work. Privacy interrupted only infrequent visits to Rovno, where a literary circle (poets K. Olenin, E. Vadimov, L. Senitskii, etc.) incurred on the initiative of Kondratieff. In emigre period, he wrote an epic poem more than the lyrical. It was a great cycle of mythological sonnets in the book "Slavic gods" (1936). The author set himself the almost impossible task - to reconstruct preserved only in fragmentary information ancient Slavic pantheon. The meaning of his work he described as an attempt to resurrect the forgotten images of the gods. Each of the heroes of the book delivers a monologue in length to 14 lines of sonnet. For excellent finish work hidden life - picking up the bits of folklore the details that make up the clear graphic portraits of mythological creatures. A similar work was done earlier in the novelistic genre: in 1930 left his demonological novel "On the shores Yaryna", on which he worked intermittently for thirty years. Is a kind of a small encyclopaedia of Russian folklore in the form of storytelling. 'Awareness of the author in this direction directly striking' - wrote in Riga newspaper 'Today' A. Amfiteatrov.

In periodicals abroad Kondratiev published memoirs essays about Blok, Sologub, Gumilev, Esenine, Voloshin, Nedobrovo, MetaCafe, Krechetova, Yasinsky, of St. Petersburg University, the 1917 Revolution. Another issue, brought them to emigrate - belletrizovannye studies on Slavic mythology ( "soul trees", "Sacred magical and prophetic birds"). Some written in the emigre years Kondratyev works were not published and irretrievably lost. The writer suffered a plot of a Gothic novel in the situation of the Silver Age, in St. Petersburg, where in those years 'blossom interest in the occult'. Easily traced autobiographical canvas, visible real prototypes heroes. On the fiction is told in everyday events intonation, crisp and clear style, fascinating and, as the unit of Kondratiev - 'always within the limits of harmony'. The story of life in the Kondratieff not printed. She was found by the author of this article and published in the 'new journal' (kn. 179, 1990). In the same year, realized another important posthumous publication - previously unprinted poems "Sunset" (published. 'Antiques', USA), the tenth and final book Kondratieff.

After fleeing Dorogobuzh he practically nothing written, but not devoid of historical and literary interest letters. Creativity hindered refugee way of life and to develop amnesia. In the forties, he lived in Warsaw, then in the Polish town of Chelm, in Poland moved to Austria, in April 1945 was under the bombs in Berlin. From there he managed to accidentally go to Belgrade, then he gets in a displaced persons camp in Trieste, and in the early fifties - in the old man's house in the town Veezen in Switzerland. At the 82-th year of his life he came to the United States, lived at the Tolstoy Farm, forgotten by all except his daughter and several close friends. The last years of his long life were spent at the oldest orphanage in g.Nayak, not far from New York. He died in hospital nayakskoy 26 May 1967 and was buried at the Orthodox cemetery in the Novo-Diveyevo in New York.