Novy Put
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''Novy Put'' (Но′вый путь, New Way) was a Russian religious, philosophical and literary magazine, founded in 1902 in
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
by Dmitry Merezhkovsky and
Zinaida Gippius Zinaida Nikolayevna Gippius (; – 9 September 1945), a Russian poet, playwright, novelist, editor and religious thinker, became one of the major figures in Russian symbolism. She began writing at an early age, and by the time she met Dmitry ...
. Initially a literary vehicle for the Religious and Philosophical Meetings, it was aiming to promote the so-called "Godseeking" doctrine through the artistic means of Russian Symbolism.


History

The first issue of ''Novy Put'' came out in November 1902. The magazine's editor-in-chief was
Pyotr Pertsov Pyotr Petrovich Pertsov (Пётр Петрович Перцов, 16 June 1868 — 19 May 1947) was a Russian poet, publisher, editor, literary critic, journalist and memoirist associated with the Russian Symbolist movement. Biography Pyotr Pet ...
, but the real leaders were Dmitry Merezhkovsky and Zinaida Gippius. The magazine, addressing the Saint Petersburg's
intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...
, stood in opposition to the
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
branch of Symbolists which gathered round the
Scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...
publishing house and were led by
Valery Bryusov Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov ( rus, Вале́рий Я́ковлевич Брю́сов, p=vɐˈlʲerʲɪj ˈjakəvlʲɪvʲɪdʑ ˈbrʲusəf, a=Valyeriy Yakovlyevich Bryusov.ru.vorb.oga; – 9 October 1924) was a Russian poet, prose writer, drama ...
. ''Novy Put'' remained loyal to Symbolism's initial values ("Arts for arts' sake", the cult of individuality) even if Merezhkovskys have by this time condemned "the new individualism" which, as Gippius put it, "devoured our society as a whole and is bound to eat Art too." While ''
Mir Iskusstva ''Mir iskusstva'' ( rus, «Мир искусства», p=ˈmʲir ɪˈskustvə, ''World of Art'') was both a Russian magazine and the artistic movement it fostered, playing a significant role in shaping the Russian avant-garde. The movement was d ...
'' (the magazine the Merezhkovskys were in close contact earlier) boasted a large and lavishly illustrated arts section, ''Novy Put'' was structured in accordance with the Russian ' thick journal' tradition. The poetry was provided mostly by the Symbolists:
Konstantin Balmont Konstantin Dmitriyevich Balmont ( rus, Константи́н Дми́триевич Ба́льмо́нт, p=, a=Konstantin Dmitriyevich Bal'mont.ru.vorb.oga; – 23 December 1942) was a Russian symbolist poet and translator who became one of ...
,
Fyodor Sologub Fyodor Sologub (, born Fyodor Kuzmich Teternikov, , also known as Theodor Sologub; – 5 December 1927) was a Russian Symbolist poet, novelist, translator, playwright and essayist. He was the first writer to introduce the morbid, pessimistic e ...
, Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Nikolai Minsky, Valery Bryusov,
Alexander Blok Alexander Alexandrovich Blok ( rus, Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Бло́к, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ ˈblok, a=Ru-Alyeksandr Alyeksandrovich Blok.oga; 7 August 1921) was a Russian lyrical poet, writer, publ ...
, Merezhkovsky and Gippius. The prose section's most prominent publication turned out to be Merezhkovsky's ''Peter and Alexis'', the third and final novel of the ''Christ and Antichrist'' trilogy. Also published in ''Novy Put'' were Gippius' short stories, ''The Sting of Death'' by Fyodor Sologub, works by Alexei Remizov, Boris Zaytsev, Sergeyev-Tsensky. More popular proved to be the non-literary sections, like "The Notes from the Religious and Philosophical Meetings," "Religious and Philosophical Chronicles," "From the Private Correspondence" and "One's Private Corner," the latter hosted by Vasily Rozanov. Here the authors could experiment freely without feeling constrained by the Merezhkovskys' ideological schemes. Among the notable works of non-fiction published by ''Novy Put'' were "The Hellenic Religion of the Suffering God" by Vyacheslav Ivanov and "Spiritualism as Antichristianity" by
Pavel Florensky Pavel Alexandrovich Florensky (also P. A. Florenskiĭ, Florenskii, Florenskij; ; ; – December 8, 1937) was a Russian Orthodox theologian, priest, philosopher, mathematician, physicist, electrical engineer, inventor, polymath, neomartyr and f ...
. In summer 1904 Pertsov was succeeded by
Dmitry Filosofov Dmitry Vladimirovich Filosofov (; – 4 August 1940) was a Russian author, essayist, literary critic, religious thinker, newspaper editor and political activist, best known for his role in the influential early 1900s ''Mir Iskusstva'' circle and ...
as an editor-in-chief. The ban, imposed upon the publication of the Religious and Philosophical Society's protocols, as well as financial problems caused the decline of the magazine's popularity. As Nikolai Berdyayev, Sergey Bulgakov, Nikolai Lossky and
Semyon Frank Semyon Lyudvigovich Frank (; 28 January 1877 – 10 December 1950) was a Russian philosopher. Born into a Jewish family, he became an Orthodox Christian in 1912. In 1922 he was expelled from Soviet Russia and lived in Berlin. In 1933 he was r ...
arrived, the magazine solidified its position, yet drifted away from its originally declared mission. In the late 1904 Merezhkovsky and Gippius quit ''Novy Put'', remaining on friendly terms with its new leaders and their influential Philosophy section. In the early 1905 the publication of ''Novy Put'' stopped and, for subscribers, was temporarily substituted by another journal, ''Voprosy Zhizny'' (Life Questions) edited by Lossky.


References

{{Dmitry Merezhkovsky 1902 establishments in the Russian Empire 1904 disestablishments in the Russian Empire Defunct literary magazines published in Europe Defunct magazines published in Russia Magazines established in 1902 Magazines disestablished in 1904 Magazines published in Saint Petersburg Defunct Russian-language magazines Literary magazines published in Russia Defunct religious magazines Philosophy magazines