Online Archive of University of Virginia Scholarship
A Revolutionary Gospel: Orthodox Origins of Russian Socialist Literature124 views
Author
Thompson, Aaron, Slavic Languages and Literatures - Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Virginia0000-0002-7310-8907
Advisors
Clowes, Edith, AS-Slavic Languages and Literatures (SLAV), University of Virginia
Abstract
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.
Thompson, Aaron. A Revolutionary Gospel: Orthodox Origins of Russian Socialist Literature. University of Virginia, Slavic Languages and Literatures - Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, PHD (Doctor of Philosophy), 2025-05-01, https://doi.org/10.18130/naxn-m459.
