Vladimir Sergeuiévitch Soloviev

Vladimir Sergeyevich Solovyov was born on January 16, 1853. His father was the renowned Russian historian Sergey Mikhaylovich Solovyov. He completed his secondary education at the 5th Gymnasium in Moscow and pursued his university studies at Moscow University from 1869 to 1873. In June 1876, he began teaching at the University, but due to various intrigues within the academic establishment, he left Moscow in March 1877 and moved to St. Petersburg. There, he became a member of the Scientific Committee of the Ministry of Education while also teaching at the city's University, where he defended his habilitation thesis in 1880. Solovyov's academic career was permanently interrupted in 1881 after a lecture he gave on March 28, 1881, in which he declared his belief that clemency should be granted to the assassins of Tsar Alexander II. This act by Vladimir Solovyov was one of bravery, sincerity, courage, and integrity, in line with his Christian principles. Freed from the constraints of bureaucratic mentality, Solovyov devoted himself entirely to writing works of ecclesiastical content, based on his philosophical beliefs. He planned a three-volume work in defense of Catholicism, but due to various reasons related to censorship and technical difficulties, he published "The History and Future of Theocracy" in 1886 instead of three volumes, and in 1889, he published "Russia and the Universal Church" in French in Paris. The publication of these works led to the emergence of numerous adversaries and unpleasant situations, including the prohibition of publishing his works on ecclesiastical matters. However, Solovyov found another outlet. With an open mind and a nature endowed with deep philosophical education, he began to engage with issues more interesting than theology, specifically literary criticism and aesthetics. Only shortly before the end of his life did he return to the study of philosophical problems. Vladimir Solovyov was a "homeless" man, without a family or a specific job. As a person, he was effusive, charming, and explosive. He spent most of his life in the country houses of his friends or abroad. In the late 1890s, his health deteriorated dramatically, and his body weakened. In the summer of 1900, he fell seriously ill in Moscow and was forced to move to the country house of Prince Pyotr Nikolayevich Trubetskoy in Uzkoe, where his friends, the well-known professors and thinkers Sergey Nikolayevich and Yevgeny Nikolayevich Trubetskoy, were living at the time. On July 31, 1900, Vladimir Solovyov died from arteriosclerosis, kidney failure, and general exhaustion of his body. He was buried in Novodevichy Cemetery, near his father's grave. He was only 47 years old.