The discovery of the other three works was due to the tireless research of André M. Smith, ( an eminent musicologist and former bass trombonist at the Metropolitan Opera, New York ) who was gifted the manuscripts by Ewald ’ s son-in-law, Yevgeny Gippius in 1964.

Years 1899 — 1901 saw Gippius mixing with the Sergey Dyagilev clique and it ’ s Mir Iskusstva magazine.

Analyzing the crisis Russian culture has found itself submerged into, Gippius ( somewhat paradoxically, given her ‘ demonic ’ reputation ) saw the salvation in Christianization which implied practically bringing intelligentsia and the Church together.

Novy Put magazine ( 1903 — 1904 ) was created to herald the new ideas and print the Meetings ’ protocols, Gippius again being the initiator.

Back in Saint Petersburg Gippius ’ health deteriorated ; for the next six years she ( along with her husband, who had heart problems ) regularly visited European resorts and clinics.

Gippius did, though, stage a peculiar soldiers ’ support campaign of her own, starting to produce a series of ‘ to-the-front ’- addressed letters each combining stylized folkish poetic messages with small tobacco-packet, signing them with her three servant maids ’ names.

Invited to join a group of ‘ red professorship ’ in Crimea, Gippius chose rather not to, having heard of massacres local chiefs Béla Kun and Roza Zemlyachka were there initiating.

After several months stay in Warsaw where Gippius had a stint as Svoboda newspaper editor, disappointed in Piłsudski ’ s policy and dropping behind Filosofov ( who chose the Savinkov company ) on October 20 they left for France.

Merezhkovsky ’ s death in 1945 rendered Gippius a blow she for quite a while was struggling to sustain.

Secretary Vladimir Zlobin still around, though, Gippius found her last straw in writing — what she hoped would materialize into her husband ’ s comprehensive life story.

Modern critics see Zinaida Gippius ’ earliest work as romantically tinged and largely derivative, mentioning Nadson and Nietzche as most obvious influences.

Dmitry Merezhkovky ’ s Causes ... manifesto became for her a turning point: in several years time Gippius gained the reputation of not just Russian symbolism ’ s major figure but of one of Russian modernism ’ s ideologist.

Later some parallels were drawn between Gippius ' early 20th century prose and Vladimir Solovyov ’ s Meaning of Love, both authors seeing the quest for Love as the means for soul self-fulfillment and reaching one ’ s higher self, rooted in Infinity.

Gippius ’ debut book of poetry published in 1904 became a major event in Russian cultural life.

Men admired Gippius ' outspokenness too: of her inner conflicts, full of ‘ demonic temptations ’ ( inevitable for the one whose mission was ‘ creating one ’ s new, true soul ’, as she saw it, Gippius spoke with unusual frankness.

Bryusov and Annensky were fans: both treated Gippius ’ early poems as an example of true virtuosity in poetry, rich in melodism and rhythmic undertones.

Anton Krainy, one of Gippius ’ better known alter egos, was highly respected and much feared literary critic whose articles featured regularly in Novy Put, Vesy and Russkaya Mysl magazines.

For the first years in Paris Gippius concentrated on doing the work she did best and been therefore loaded with: making contacts, sorting out mail, negotiating contracts and receiving guests.

In Munich a book by four authors ( Merezhkovsky, Gippius, Filosofov, and Zlobin ) Tsarstvo Antichrista ( The Kingdom of the Antichrist ) came out, where the first two parts of Peterburgskiye dnevniki ( St. Petersburg Diaries ) were published for the first time, and with an introductory article by Gippius The Story of my Diary.

In 1891 Merezhkovsky and Gippius made their first journey to Europe – mainly Italy and France ; the poem Konetz Veka ( End of the Century ) inspired by continental impressions was published two years later.

Merezhkovsky's next and most fundamental step ahead as a fledgling self-styled modernist philosophy leader was taken in tandem with his young intellectual wife Zinaida Gippius who from the first days of their meeting started generating new ideas for her husband to catch up on, fully develop and bring into shape.

By this time, Zinaida Gippius had already studied for two years at a girl's school in Kiev ( 1877 — 1878 ) and for a year at Moscow's Fischer gymnasium where, because of her chronically sad disposition, she was remembered as a " tiny troubled creature ".

Gippius ’ two early 1910s novels, Devil ’ s Doll and Roman Tzarevich, aiming to " lay bare the very roots of Russian reactionary ideas ", weren ’ t successful: critics found them artistically helpless and totally tendentious.

In winter 1925 a small literary and philosophy circle was formed by Merezhkovsky and Gippius ; two years later it was officially launched as the Green Lamp group.

In November 1932 Gippius in a letter to V. N. Bunina wrote that in her opinion Merezhkovsky had not the slightest chance of winning " because of his anti-Communist stance ", but the truth was, Bunin ( no lesser a Communism-loather than his rival ) wrote books that were so much more accessible and, generally, popular.

Zinaida Nikolaevna Gippius, (; November 20, 1869, Belyov-September 9, 1945, Paris, France ) was a Russian poet, playwright, editor, short story writer and religious thinker, regarded as a co-founder of Russian symbolism and seen as " one of the most enigmatic and intelligent women of her time in Russia ".

In 1906 Gippius published the Aly Metch ( Scarlet Sward ) book of short stories, in 1908 — Makov Tzvet ( Poppies Blossom ) play, Merezhkovsky and Filosofov credited as co-authors.

And so the idea of the New Church began to take shape, Gippius the instigator of the process, Merezhkovsky — its major driving force.

It all began with the Religious-Philosophical Meetings ( 1901 – 1903 ) based on the New church concept, formulated by Gippius, meant as a modern alternative to the old Orthodox one, the latter, in her words, having proved, "... to be imperfect and prone to stagnation ".

It was the 3rd Testament that formed the basis of the early XX century Russian New Religious Consciousness movement which in turn kick started the Religious-Philosophical Society into action, again Gippius producing basic ideas for her husband to formulate them and become the driving force behind.

On January 8, 1889, in Tiflis, Gippius and Merezhkovsky, ignoring the ceremonial part as much as they possibly could, were married, thus forming what turned out to become the most extraordinary husband and wife tandem in the history of Russian literature.

Quite for some time Merezhkovsky and Gippius were cherishing hopes for the demise of the bolshevik rule, but, having learned of Kolchak's defeat in Siberia and Denikin's defeat in the south of Russia, they decided to flee Petrograd.

In the early 1920s several Gippius ' works published in Russia were re-issued.

It garnered good reviews ; Bunin called Gippius poetry ‘ electric ’, noticing the special way the oxymoron were used as an electrifying force in the hermetic non-emotional world.

In her poetry, prose and essays of those years Gippius was utterly pessimistic: the rule of Beastliness on ruins of human culture and civilization ’ s demise were her major themes.

Most valuable for Gippius were her Diaries: she saw these personal history ’ s flashpoints as essential for future generations to restore the true course of things.

Practically, what Merezhkovsky and Gippius were only able to do in those days was trying to use whatever influence they've still had among the Bolshevist cultural elite to help setting their friends, the arrested Provisional government ministers free.

Articles and essays of the four authors ( Merezhkovsky, Gippius, Filosofov contacts with whom were restored and Zlobin ) were published under the title of The Kingdon of Antichrist ( 1922 ), the general idea of the book being that the ' Russian fires ', globalist in their nature and intent, promise " either brotherhood in slavery or the end in a common grave " for the peoples of Europe.

In the days to come, though, husband and wife ( as those who knew them attested ) were often expressing horror at the news of Nazis ' atrocities on the Eastern front ; according to Gippius ' friend, poet Victor Mamchenko, Merezhkovsky far from supporting Hitler, was actually condemning him in those days.

Never a political activist, Gippius regarded now social change as the one and only thing worth of writing about.

The 20th century also saw the rise of Gippius the playwright ( Saintly Blood, 1900, Poppies Blossom, 1908 ), her later work Green Ring ( 1916 ), somewhat futuristic-in theme, if not in form ,-was generally regarded as the strongest of all ; Vsevolod Meyerhold staged it successfully in Alexandrovsky theater.

A seminal figure of the Silver Age of Russian Poetry, regarded as a co-founder of the Symbolist movement, Merezhkovsky – with his poet wife Zinaida Gippius – was twice forced into political exile.