Voskresenie
Encyclopedia
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.
The Voskresenie (Resurrection or Sunday) was a left-leaning, quasi-Masonic sect
Sect
A sect is a group with distinctive religious, political or philosophical beliefs. Although in past it was mostly used to refer to religious groups, it has since expanded and in modern culture can refer to any organization that breaks away from a larger one to follow a different set of rules and...
, which existed in Petrograd between 1918 and 1928. The group, which consisted of philosophers, professionals, and members of the Religious Philosophical Society, sought to support the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s' economic policy but oppose their atheistic culture, and in so doing to 'renew humanity and the construction of communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
' (as seen in Brandist 2002, p.28).
In December 1917, several employees of the Imperial Public Library gathered at the flat of philosopher Georgy Fedorov to discuss the recent October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
and the manner with which the intelligentsia
Intelligentsia
The intelligentsia is a social class of people engaged in complex, mental and creative labor directed to the development and dissemination of culture, encompassing intellectuals and social groups close to them...
should respond to the social revolution. Continuing in traditions of the masonic Religious-Philosophic Society, which had been run by their mentors - Dmitry Merezhkovsky
Dmitry Merezhkovsky
Dmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky, , 1865, St Petersburg – December 9, 1941, Paris) was a Russian novelist, poet, religious thinker, and literary critic. 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...
and his wife Zinaida Gippius
Zinaida Gippius
Zinaida Nikolaevna Gippius, 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"....
- the group critically accepted the revolution, but urged that people be free to express their spiritual beliefs.
By March 1918, the circle included at least 18 formally recognised members. The leaders were Fedorov and Alexander Meyer, who argued for the union (smychka
Smychka
Smychka was a popular political term in Soviet Russia and Soviet Union. It can be roughly translated as "collaboration in society" "union", "alliance", "joining the ranks"...
) of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and social revolution (ibid.). The majority of participants of the circle were skeptical about the official position of the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
, believing that free development of Christian ideas within the Church was impossible. Meetings were held in the apartments of the Free Philosophical Association, though after they were closed in 1923, the meetings were held in the flats of K.A. Polovtsova (7 Maly Avenue of Petrogradskaya Side) and P.F. Smotritsky (18 Geslerovsky Lane); in 1917-28, no fewer than 150 people attended these meetings.
The main discussion themes included revolution and power, religion, and society. The painter Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin
Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin
Kuzma Sergeevich Petrov-Vodkin, was an important Russian and Soviet painter and writer.-Early years:...
occasionally visited the circle's meetings, as did philologists M.M Bakhtin and Lev Pumpyansky, although Bakhtin and Pumpyansky appeared not to have any formal connection to the group (Hirschkop 1999: p. 168). In 1918, members of the circle issued a periodical, Free Voices, although it proved to be short lived, it was published only twice, having been discontinued after opposition from Merezhkovsky.
By the end of 1919, the group officially assumed the name of Voskresenie, which is the Russian word both for "Sunday" and for "Resurrection". The name reflected their hopes to see the social revolution resurrect spiritual freedoms. By this time eleven people formed the core of Voskresenie, and they organized the fraternity "Christ and Freedom", which secretly convened on Tuesdays and discussed the possibility of facilitating the merger of social revolution and Christianity. The fraternity was disbanded in 1923, on account of disagreements between its members.
After Fedorov emigrated two years later, the society came to be dominated by Meyer, who used his charismatic aura and rhetorical skill to turn the circle into a sort of religious sect or masonic lodge. On 8 December 1928, when the society was about to mark its 10th anniversary, Meyer, Bakhtin, and (about 100) other individuals associated with Voskresenie were apprehended by the OGPU (Hirschkop 1999: p. 168). The subsequent trial resulted in the Voskresenie leaders being sentenced up to ten years in labour camps. Bakhtin was found guilty for his association with the circle and on 1929-07-22 he was sentenced to five years in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
. Approximately 70 people were sentenced by Decree of the Collegium of the Joint State Political Administration Board on 22 July 1929.