The recent literary salon was rich and emotionally vivid. Its participants discussed Blok’s biography, shared interesting facts from his life, talked about his relationship with St. Petersburg and about the symbolism of the epoch. Poems were recited — from early “mystical” works to anxious, historically dramatic pieces.
Alexander Alexandrovich Blok (1880–1921) is one of the central figures of the Silver Age of Russian literature, a poet whose name became a symbol of the era and of the spiritual quests of the early twentieth century. His life, works and worldview are closely connected with St. Petersburg — the city where he was born, educated, began to write, and where his earthly path came to an end.
St. Petersburg in Blok’s works is not merely a setting. It is a special artistic space where reality intersects with a mystical vision of the world. In his early poems the city appears mysterious, almost ghostly, full of symbols and allusions; and in his later works it becomes harsh, stormy, “iron”, reflecting social upheavals and revolutionary changes.
In his diaries, the poet admitted that St. Petersburg shaped his spiritual biography. The towers, the paving stones, the embankments of the Neva, the fog and the evening light of the lanterns became part of the poetic world from which lines familiar to every lover of Russian poetry emerged.

A special place in Blok’s destiny belongs to Lyubov Dmitrievna Mendeleeva, the daughter of the great chemist Dmitri Mendeleev.
His feelings for her arose in his youth. When Alexander was 17 and Lyubov 16, a profound feeling awoke in him which later determined his early lyric poetry. For him she became the embodiment of the ideal of Womanhood, the Beautiful Lady, the highest spiritual principle, and Blok’s attitude was elevated, almost mystical, truly Platonic.
Their marriage, concluded in 1903, was not easy: spiritual closeness was combined with complex life circumstances, creative jealousy, and the search for personal freedom. But the image of Lyubov Dmitrievna remained in the memory of readers and researchers as a Muse who inspired Blok to create an entire cycle of poems and became the embodiment of his symbolist worldview.

Blok’s first books (“Poems of the Beautiful Lady”) reflect the influence of symbolism, religious and mystical ideas, and the philosophy of Vladimir Solovyov.

“And from the heavy sleep of earthly consciousness
You shall awake, in longing and in love.”
— Vl. Solovyov

And from the heavy sleep of earthly mind
You shall awake — in longing and in love.

I sense Your coming. Years are passing by—
Yet in one single shape I still foresee You.
The whole horizon burns— unbearably bright,
And silently I wait— in longing and in love.

The whole horizon burns, Your coming is so near,
Yet fear is mine: Your form may be transformed,
And bold suspicion you might then awake,
By changing those familiar traits at last.

Oh, how I’ll fall— in sorrow and in shame,
Unable to withstand these deadly dreams!
How clear the horizon! Radiance so close—
Yet fear is mine: Your form may be transformed.

June 4, 1901 — Shakhmatovo

Later, the tone of the poet changes. The world becomes troubled and dramatic: the theme of Russia’s fate, of the people and of revolution comes to the foreground. The culmination of his creative evolution was the poem “The Twelve”, in which romanticism and tragedy combine with a sense of historical turning point.

Blok is among those poets whose personal biography, love story, the destiny of the city and of the country are united into a single spiritual image. St. Petersburg was his endless theme, his inspiration, his stage, and his finale.

And today, more than a century later, his poems continue to sound — like the music of time, like the memory of a great epoch and of a man who managed to turn his own life into poetry.

Here is what one of the participants of this Literary Salon noted:

Literature, poetry, music, and painting are always close by and delight us with astonishing intertwining of fates, discoveries, and creative insights! I would personally like to share about one such discovery in connection with our meeting at the Literary Salon. As is known, Alexander Blok came from an old noble family and received an excellent education. But there was another poet in this family! In my youthful years, while studying at a music school, I accompanied the performance of the romance “Lilac” (Siren). At the time, I wasn’t very interested in who wrote those beautiful words, as I was completely focused on the music. And suddenly, I now learn that it was one of Alexander Blok’s three aunts—Ekaterina Andreevna Beketova! Sergei Rachmaninoff brilliantly conveyed the emerald-white lilac and the gentle swaying of the light May breeze in the piano accompaniment of the romance! But that’s not all about the “Rachmaninoff’s” lilac! Later, in the late 1970s, the writer Yuri Nagibin, inspired by this romance, wrote an excellent short story titled “Lilac,” dedicated to pages from Rachmaninoff’s life. So, let us remember the pearly, May, white lilac on these damp, winter days!

Natalia Z.

Such live meetings allow us to feel the poet’s inner world, hear his voice, and rediscover familiar lines in the context of modern cultural memory.

Announcement: the next literary salon. Registration is already open!

The next meeting — the last one in this calendar year — will be dedicated to Christmas and New Year works of Russian literature. The focus will be on Nikolai Gogol, Nikolai Leskov, Alexander Kuprin and other authors who created festive and mystical stories characteristic of Russian winter traditions.

Guests will hear about Christmas customs, rituals and legends, as well as readings filled with the atmosphere of Christmas magic.