The “Old” and “New” Worlds in Alexander Blok’s Interpretation

Aim. To reveal both the Alexander Blok’s understanding and perception of global historical processes – from the Old Testament to the New, and from the European “Old World” to the Russian revolutions in Russia, both future and past – and to identify the integrity of the author’s concept of spiritual existence and the changing patterns of earthly life, accompanied by tragedies, ruptures, the loss of God, and new acquisitions of goodness and light.

Methodology. The article examines Blok’s poetry and prose, drawing on works published in the poet’s collected works – fiction, journalistic, and documentary – which are ongoing through the efforts of scholars at the Russian Academy of Sciences: the Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House) and the Gorky Institute of World Literature. The article focuses on Blok’s interpretations of the historical paths of ancient peoples, informed by his spiritual orientation, and his premonition of the future of Russia and the world. According to that emphasis is placed on the opinions and excerpts from the works of Russian philosophers, particularly religious thinkers, philologists, and poets: V. S. Solovyov, Andrei Bely, N. A. Berdyaev, S. L. Frank, V. V. Polonsky, and others. To illuminate the issue, the results of numerous studies on Blok, his individual conclusions and information contained in the works of Blok scholars: D. E. Maksimov, K. V. Mochulsky, V. P. Yenisherlov, N. Yu. Gryakalova, and others, are drawn upon.

Results. Blok’s poems, epistolary legacy, articles, and diary entries, perceived and interpreted in a certain way, reveal the fundamental thrust of Blok’s understanding of the contrasts and interactions between the “old” and the “new.” They demonstrate how profound and insightful Blok’s perception of the collapse of the Russian state was, and the how creative prospects of a new Russia were, which had raised the banner of internationalism that was related to not the poet’s fascination with “Bolshevism,” but the processes that was mystically predetermined and conditioned by the spiritual potential of the homeland.

Research implications. This article may be useful for understanding the origins of the cultural-historical and literary process; it aims to foster fresh interest in Blok’s work, his understanding and creative interpretation of world and Russian history, methodological issues, and the religious aspects of the humanities.

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