A Revolutionary Gospel: Orthodox Origins of Russian Socialist Literature

This dissertation examines how Maksim Gor’kii, figurehead of the atheist Soviet apparatus until his death in 1936, transposed Christian narratives onto a spiritual socialist image of Russia’s future. He used recognizable symbols, characters, and stories to connect the soul of Russia’s people with the revolutionary spirit he saw in Christianity. A Revolutionary Gospel details the Christian influence from the earliest of Gor’kii’s works through the 1905 revolution, including The Three, The Lower Depths, Mother, and Confession. Looking forward, the dissertation seeks paths to understanding what came of Gor’kii’s spiritual socialist passion for his homeland.