Books by Svetlana V. Cheloukhina
Moscow: Iazyki russkoi kul’tury, 2006
Book
LC classification: PG3476.Z2 Z54 2006
Articles (Peer-reviewed) by Svetlana V. Cheloukhina
Forthcoming, 2024
The article presents previously unpublished correspondence between Mikhail Zenkevich (1886-1973),... more The article presents previously unpublished correspondence between Mikhail Zenkevich (1886-1973), Acmeist poet, translator, and literary critic, and American radical feminist writer, Myra Page (Dorothy Markey, born Dorothy Page Gary, 1897-1990) and the first female Pulitzer Prize Winner, poet Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950). It discusses Zenkevich's connections with American poets and political activists during his work at GIKhL (1929-1933), and his input in translations of American poetry into Russian. Page's letter to Zenkevich and her first autobiography, intended as a preface to her novel, Gathering Storm: A Story of the Black Belt, planned for publication in Russian translation in 1932, is analyzed. The latter is viewed in relevance to Page's second autobiography, In a Generous Spirit: First Person Biography of Myra Page (1996), published in collaboration with Christina Looper Baker. The reasons for nonappearance of the Russian translation of Page's novel are examined in connection with the publication in Russian of Mary Heaton Vorse's (1874-1966) novel Strike! (Stachka, 1932). Zenkevich's translations of Millay's poetry as well as Eugen Boissevan's and Eugene Saxton's letters to Zenkevich written on Millay's behalf are also examined. The documents published here for the first time are regarded as a valuable addition to our knowledge about Zenkevich and his collaboration with American women writers during the 1930s.
![Research paper thumbnail of "Ты удинственный, с кем я могу быть, как с самим собой: Переписка Г.П.Федотова и М.А. Зенкевича, 1912-1927". ["You are the Only One with Whom I Can Be Myself": Correspondence between George Fedotov and Mikhail Zenkevich 1912-1927"].](https://a.academia-assets.com/images/blank-paper.jpg)
The New Review / Novyi Zhurnal, 2023
“You are the only one with whom I can be myself”:
Correspondence between George Fedotov and Mikha... more “You are the only one with whom I can be myself”:
Correspondence between George Fedotov and Mikhail Zenkevich:
1912-1927
For the first time, the correspondence between a philosopher, historian, and publicist, George Petrovich Fedotov (1886–1951) and a former Acmeist poet, prose writer, translator, and literary critic, Mikhail Alexandrovich Zenkevich (1886–1973) is published. The article considers the question “Fedotov and Zenkevich” while analyzing several important topics discussed in these letters, as well as scrutinizing some previously unknown details of their authors’ biographies, concerning their study at several universities and time spent in Saratov, Odessa (Zenkevich), Germany (Berlin and Jena), Paris (Fedotov) and St.-Petersburg.
Eight years separate Fedotov’s and Zenkevich’s letters; they are not connected by topic or the events reflected in them. Fedotov’s letters are more substantial by volume and content than those of Zenkevich. They reveal his mindset, philosophical views, and his vision of historical, political, and religious processes in Russia at that time. His rejection of theosophy, in the light of Vladimir Soloviev’s philosophy, as well as understanding the necessity of strengthening the public role of authentic Russian Christianity is also discussed. Fedotov stresses the importance of Zenkevich’s role in the development of his own views. He also appears as literary critic by the high regard he has for Zenkevich’s poetry and by stressing historically and politically significant features of some of his works. Zenkevich’s letters reflect the new reality while discussing more practical things. As editor of the publishing house “Zemlia i Fabrika” (“ZiF”), he writes to Fedotov with an offer to translate books by foreign authors in order to publish them in Russia. The importance of the published letters is indisputable for the topic “Fedotov and Zenkevich” as well as for an understanding of the processes of the development of the views and writings of these two remarkable representatives of Russian culture.
Keywords
G.P. Fedotov, M.A. Zenkevich, B.A. Zenkevich, V.A. Narbut, correspondence, biography.
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Studies in Theory of Literary Plot and Narratology, 2021
As a result of the latest findings in the archives of Russia and the United States, the correspon... more As a result of the latest findings in the archives of Russia and the United States, the correspondence between Mikhail Zenkevich and Orville Wright is published for the first time (the originals in English are supplemented with the Russian translations). This correspondence was conducted between 1932–1933, which correlates to the time period Zenkevich was working on the first biography of the pioneer aviators in Russian, Brat’ia Rait (The Wright Brothers, 1933). Also included are excerpts from the letters of foreign literati and colleagues, such as Michael Gold, Harold Heslop, Maurice Becker, Helen Black, as well as domestic correspondents, K. K. Kuraev among them. The article deliberates upon the direct influence of the materials provided by O. Wright on the book. A review of the holdings on the theme of aviation in Zenkevich’s fund (IRLI Pushkinskii Dom) is provided. The examination of the littleknown biographical details, as well as the parts of the poet’s epistolary legacy and his prosaic works, adds to the analysis. Taken together, this all has allowed for substantiation of certain presumptions about other possible sources of the book. The article interprets some literary features of Brat’ia Rait by tracing the development of the theme of aviation in the earlier poems by this former Acmeist, and by drawing parallels with some of his later short and long poems, such as “Al’timetr. Tragorel’ef” (Altimeter. Tragic Relief) and “Torzhestvo aviatsii” (The Triumph of Aviation), and a short novel “Na strezhen’” (On the River Bend) and fictional memoirs Muzhitskii Sfinks (The Peasant Sphinx). Finally, some intertextual parallels between “The Triumph of Aviation” and Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven,” translated by Zenkevich, are revealed.
The conclusion is made that the materials received from O. Wright have subsequently influenced the long poem “The Triumph of Aviation” and other works by Zenkevich. The publication is equipped with detailed notes, commentaries and illustrations.
Routledge Encyclopedia of Modernism, 2016
Mikhail Aleksandrovich Zenkevich was a Russian poet and author, one of the founders of Tsekh poet... more Mikhail Aleksandrovich Zenkevich was a Russian poet and author, one of the founders of Tsekh poetov [The Guild of Poets] and the Acmeist movement—a representative of its left wing, Adamism. The association of Zenkevich and Narbut with Acmeism has often been referred to as one of a social and rather conventional nature, yet for both poets it was indisputable. Zenkevich’s first book, Dikaia porfira [Savage Purple] (1912), praised by Acmeism’s leader Nikolai Gumilev (1912), as well as by fellow poets Sergei Gorodetsky and Georgy Ivanov (1994), is on a par with Anna Akhmatova’s Vecher [Evening] (1912), Vladimir Narbut’s Alliluiia [Hallelujah] (1912), and Osip Mandelstam’s Kamen’ [Stone] (1913) for its importance to the Acmeist aesthetic.
Zenkevich’s legacy is significant and diverse. He has authored twelve books of poetry, two novels, Muzhitskii Sfinks [The Peasant Sphinx] (1928, 1991) and Na strezhen’ [To the River Bend] (1994); short prose, dramatic poems—Al’timetr [Altimeter] (1919–1921, 2004) and Triumf aviatsii [The Triumph of Aviation] (1937, 2018)—translations, and critical articles. He became one of the founders of the Russian 20th-century school of poetic translation and was the longest surviving member of the Acmeist circle.
Australian Slavonic and East European Studies, 2014
The New Zealand Slavonic Journal, 2005
Strannaia poeziia i strannaia proza: Filologicheskii sbornik, posviashchennyi 100-letiiu so dnia rozhdeniia N. A. Zabolotskogo. Vyp. 3. Moscow: Piataia strana, 2003
Conference Papers by Svetlana V. Cheloukhina
ASEEES, 2023
This paper provides an overview of my recent archival findings on a former Acmeist poet Mikhail Z... more This paper provides an overview of my recent archival findings on a former Acmeist poet Mikhail Zenkevich (1886-1973). Collected in Russian, American, Ukrainian, German, and Belgian archives, these documents shed new light on Zenkevich's biography, his role in Acmeism and in the entire Russian literary process of the twentieth century. Correspondence with family members and archival records related to his studies in Berlin, Jena and St. Petersburg reveal facts about his early years. His letters to Valerii Briusov and George Fedotov illustrate his involvement with modernist literary movements in St.-Peterburg-Petrograd in 1908-1917. His participation in the "Saratov cultural explosion" between 1918-1923 is reflected in various documents and in his own publications. In Moscow, Zenkevich lived through the years of political repressions in an atmosphere of a subdued existence and with modest recognition. His association with Acmeism, labeled as decadent and antagonistic to the ideological requirements of Socialist Realism, had much to do with his ongoing inability to publish some of his best poems written according to the old, Acmeist standards. Yet, his ties with Narbut, Mandelstam, and Akhmatova remained intact. His collection of poems, "Al'bom s serebrianym obrezom" ("The Silver-Edged Album," 1942-1973), discovered in 2015, contribute much to his oeuvre. Letters to his wife written during WWII also reveal many unknown facts. Finally, his correspondence with American poets and activists, among them Michael Gold, Myra Page, and Edna St. Vincent Millay, attest to Zenkevich's exceptional role as translator. Some of these documents will be included in my future book about Zenkevich.
2023 Annual Conference of the British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies (BASEES), Glasgow, 2023
Mikhail Zenkevich, a former Acmeist, is an acclaimed translator of British authors into Russian. ... more Mikhail Zenkevich, a former Acmeist, is an acclaimed translator of British authors into Russian. His translation of Measure for Measure was included in the complete works of Shakespeare (1949).Treasure Island by R.L. Stevenson and The War of the Worlds by H.Wells, translated by Zenkevich, are still published to this day. A poet himself, Zenkevich translated G. Byron, J. Kits, T. Hardy, and many others. The famous Antologiia novoi angliiskoi poezii (1937) included his twenty-two translations of World War I poetry by T.S. Eliot, S.Sasson, W.Owen, I.Rosenberg, R.Oldington, and H.Read. R. Brooke’s “The Soldier,” planned for this volume but only published in 2014, is considered one of the best. Zenkevich took the deaths of young poets in the First World War as his own tragedy since his brother also died in battle. Moreover, Zenkevich devoted many of his own poems to the WWI. British poets also influenced Zenkevich. Analyzing Zenkevich’s translations of British authors, my paper will discuss, in particular, some of the parallels between Owen’s “Strange Meeting” and Zenkevich’s “U dvukh protalin” (1942) as well as his translation of Owen’s poem. Written in the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, contrary to ideological requirements, Zenkevich’s poem propagated the Christian ideas of brotherhood and resurrection. Similarly, his translations of WWI British poetry reveal him as a philosopher and pacifist who promoted non-violent relationships despite ideological differences.
The Association for Slavic, East European & Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) 2022 Virtual Convention, 2022
This paper will present, for the first time, Myra Page’s (1897-1990) correspondence with a former... more This paper will present, for the first time, Myra Page’s (1897-1990) correspondence with a former Acmeist Mikhail Zenkevich (1886-1973) discovered during my recent archival research. This correspondence includes an unpublished abstract of Pages’ autobiography, written upon Zenkevich’s request in 1932, in Moscow. Page’s complete biography, authored by Christina Looper Baker and dictated to her by Page, was published in 1996 (In a Generous Spirit: First Person Biography of Myra Page. Urbana: University of Illinois Press). Comparing these two biographies will provide some new details on Page’s evolution as American left-wing activist and feminist writer during her work in the Soviet Union. Zenkevich’s role as chief editor of the foreign section of the GIKhL during 1930s and translator of American poets will also be discussed in this connection.
The 10th World Congress of the International Council for Central and East European Studies, Montréal, Canada, August 3-8, 2021
The Association for Slavic, East European & Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) 2020 Virtual Convention, November 5-7 & 14-15, 2020
Igor’ Kiyanitsa (b. 1934) is a contemporary Russian artist. This is the first presentation of his... more Igor’ Kiyanitsa (b. 1934) is a contemporary Russian artist. This is the first presentation of his artwork in the U.S. Kiyanitsa’s legacy includes over a hundred oil paintings, countless watercolors and drawings, created in the late-Soviet and post-Soviet periods. During his fifty-plus-year career as artist, he has developed his own distinctive manner and style. A well-structured composition, original light and color palette, and the intense mood and rhythm of his paintings produce a powerful artistic effect, creating a long-lasting impression. While discussing some of the artist's most notable creations, I will argue, however, that the most important feature of his art is its philosophical component and that, despite the anxiety over the changing social norms and attempts to comprehend the increasing social imbalance, his works continue to reveal an overall internal harmony and display a profound spirituality. I will also view his masterpieces both within the context of the new art of Russia and against the background of modernist, avant-garde and realistic traditions in European art. Finally, I will demonstrate that Kiyanitsa is the founder of an art school of his own.
International Conference Artistic Expressions and the Great War: Hundred Years On/ Hofstra Cultural Center. Hofstra University, NY, 2018
Russian modernist and avant-garde writers, poets, and artists have been known for their powerful ... more Russian modernist and avant-garde writers, poets, and artists have been known for their powerful depiction of World War I and its devastating impact on western civilization. In this connection, the war poetry of the former Acmeist, Mikhail Aleksandrovich Zenkevich (1886-1973), stands out as a separate unique phenomenon. Although Zenkevich did not participate in the war, his writings were strongly affected both by it and by the following Russian Revolution. Zenkevich’s brother, Sergei, was killed on the Eastern front. His Petersburg friends, poets Nikolai Gumilev, Velimir Khlebnikov, Benedikt Lifshits, among others, served in the army, experiencing the war’s mortal consequences. Zenkevich’s two major collections of war poetry – Brotherhood with Death (So smert’iu na brudershaft, 1916-1924) and Plough Land for Tanks (Pashnia tankov, 1921), describe the tragic disbelief and loss of orientation of an entire generation. One of the protagonists of his belletristic memoirs written in the 1920s, The Peasant Sphinx (Muzhitskii sfinks, 1928-1994, dubbed as “unrealistic truth” by Anna Akhmatova) is portrayed as an officer, resurrected from the dead, in whom the author-narrator recognizes his former Acmeist friend, Gumilev. In his later, World War II, poem, “By the Two Thawed Patches” (“U dvukh protalin,” written on April 5, 1942), Zenkevich describes two dead soldiers, a Russian and a German, former foes, who, rising from the dirt of the battlefield, congratulate each other on the resurrection of Christ and the Easter feast. This paper will demonstrate that, by calling upon the Gogolian type of “brotherly love” as the only alternative to war, Zenkevich’s poetry of the Great War powerfully delivers the pacifist, humanistic message, quintessential for Russian modernism and avant-garde.
Northeastern Slavic, East European & Eurasian Studies Conference (NESEEES) ), New York University (NYU) Jordan Center for the Advanced Study of Russia, New York. , 2018
Art Without Death: Russian Cosmism. Haus Der Culturen Del Welt. HKW. Berlin, September 1-3, 2017, 2017
Nikolai Zabolotsky’s Nature-Philosophical Poetry and Russian Cosmism
Nikolai Zabolotsky (1903–... more Nikolai Zabolotsky’s Nature-Philosophical Poetry and Russian Cosmism
Nikolai Zabolotsky (1903–1958) was not only a member of the Russian avant-garde group OBERIU, he also wrote his own philosophy of nature. At the core of his Naturphilosophie lies the concept of metamorphoses – endless transformations at the atomic level from the material to the spiritual (ideal) realm, and vise versa. Zabolotsky believed that the leading role in nature’s development into a unity of the living and dead were forms of matter belonging to humankind as bearer of a “natural consciousness.” According to the philosopher, human beings are born as a result of constant antagonistic transformations. They represent the highest stage of nature’s development and thus have to take responsibility for these transformations. Zabolotsky was convinced that solving nature’s contradictions would lead to the liberation of the human mind – and ultimately also to human immortality.
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Books by Svetlana V. Cheloukhina
Articles (Peer-reviewed) by Svetlana V. Cheloukhina
Correspondence between George Fedotov and Mikhail Zenkevich:
1912-1927
For the first time, the correspondence between a philosopher, historian, and publicist, George Petrovich Fedotov (1886–1951) and a former Acmeist poet, prose writer, translator, and literary critic, Mikhail Alexandrovich Zenkevich (1886–1973) is published. The article considers the question “Fedotov and Zenkevich” while analyzing several important topics discussed in these letters, as well as scrutinizing some previously unknown details of their authors’ biographies, concerning their study at several universities and time spent in Saratov, Odessa (Zenkevich), Germany (Berlin and Jena), Paris (Fedotov) and St.-Petersburg.
Eight years separate Fedotov’s and Zenkevich’s letters; they are not connected by topic or the events reflected in them. Fedotov’s letters are more substantial by volume and content than those of Zenkevich. They reveal his mindset, philosophical views, and his vision of historical, political, and religious processes in Russia at that time. His rejection of theosophy, in the light of Vladimir Soloviev’s philosophy, as well as understanding the necessity of strengthening the public role of authentic Russian Christianity is also discussed. Fedotov stresses the importance of Zenkevich’s role in the development of his own views. He also appears as literary critic by the high regard he has for Zenkevich’s poetry and by stressing historically and politically significant features of some of his works. Zenkevich’s letters reflect the new reality while discussing more practical things. As editor of the publishing house “Zemlia i Fabrika” (“ZiF”), he writes to Fedotov with an offer to translate books by foreign authors in order to publish them in Russia. The importance of the published letters is indisputable for the topic “Fedotov and Zenkevich” as well as for an understanding of the processes of the development of the views and writings of these two remarkable representatives of Russian culture.
Keywords
G.P. Fedotov, M.A. Zenkevich, B.A. Zenkevich, V.A. Narbut, correspondence, biography.
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The conclusion is made that the materials received from O. Wright have subsequently influenced the long poem “The Triumph of Aviation” and other works by Zenkevich. The publication is equipped with detailed notes, commentaries and illustrations.
Zenkevich’s legacy is significant and diverse. He has authored twelve books of poetry, two novels, Muzhitskii Sfinks [The Peasant Sphinx] (1928, 1991) and Na strezhen’ [To the River Bend] (1994); short prose, dramatic poems—Al’timetr [Altimeter] (1919–1921, 2004) and Triumf aviatsii [The Triumph of Aviation] (1937, 2018)—translations, and critical articles. He became one of the founders of the Russian 20th-century school of poetic translation and was the longest surviving member of the Acmeist circle.
Conference Papers by Svetlana V. Cheloukhina
Nikolai Zabolotsky (1903–1958) was not only a member of the Russian avant-garde group OBERIU, he also wrote his own philosophy of nature. At the core of his Naturphilosophie lies the concept of metamorphoses – endless transformations at the atomic level from the material to the spiritual (ideal) realm, and vise versa. Zabolotsky believed that the leading role in nature’s development into a unity of the living and dead were forms of matter belonging to humankind as bearer of a “natural consciousness.” According to the philosopher, human beings are born as a result of constant antagonistic transformations. They represent the highest stage of nature’s development and thus have to take responsibility for these transformations. Zabolotsky was convinced that solving nature’s contradictions would lead to the liberation of the human mind – and ultimately also to human immortality.
Correspondence between George Fedotov and Mikhail Zenkevich:
1912-1927
For the first time, the correspondence between a philosopher, historian, and publicist, George Petrovich Fedotov (1886–1951) and a former Acmeist poet, prose writer, translator, and literary critic, Mikhail Alexandrovich Zenkevich (1886–1973) is published. The article considers the question “Fedotov and Zenkevich” while analyzing several important topics discussed in these letters, as well as scrutinizing some previously unknown details of their authors’ biographies, concerning their study at several universities and time spent in Saratov, Odessa (Zenkevich), Germany (Berlin and Jena), Paris (Fedotov) and St.-Petersburg.
Eight years separate Fedotov’s and Zenkevich’s letters; they are not connected by topic or the events reflected in them. Fedotov’s letters are more substantial by volume and content than those of Zenkevich. They reveal his mindset, philosophical views, and his vision of historical, political, and religious processes in Russia at that time. His rejection of theosophy, in the light of Vladimir Soloviev’s philosophy, as well as understanding the necessity of strengthening the public role of authentic Russian Christianity is also discussed. Fedotov stresses the importance of Zenkevich’s role in the development of his own views. He also appears as literary critic by the high regard he has for Zenkevich’s poetry and by stressing historically and politically significant features of some of his works. Zenkevich’s letters reflect the new reality while discussing more practical things. As editor of the publishing house “Zemlia i Fabrika” (“ZiF”), he writes to Fedotov with an offer to translate books by foreign authors in order to publish them in Russia. The importance of the published letters is indisputable for the topic “Fedotov and Zenkevich” as well as for an understanding of the processes of the development of the views and writings of these two remarkable representatives of Russian culture.
Keywords
G.P. Fedotov, M.A. Zenkevich, B.A. Zenkevich, V.A. Narbut, correspondence, biography.
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The conclusion is made that the materials received from O. Wright have subsequently influenced the long poem “The Triumph of Aviation” and other works by Zenkevich. The publication is equipped with detailed notes, commentaries and illustrations.
Zenkevich’s legacy is significant and diverse. He has authored twelve books of poetry, two novels, Muzhitskii Sfinks [The Peasant Sphinx] (1928, 1991) and Na strezhen’ [To the River Bend] (1994); short prose, dramatic poems—Al’timetr [Altimeter] (1919–1921, 2004) and Triumf aviatsii [The Triumph of Aviation] (1937, 2018)—translations, and critical articles. He became one of the founders of the Russian 20th-century school of poetic translation and was the longest surviving member of the Acmeist circle.
Nikolai Zabolotsky (1903–1958) was not only a member of the Russian avant-garde group OBERIU, he also wrote his own philosophy of nature. At the core of his Naturphilosophie lies the concept of metamorphoses – endless transformations at the atomic level from the material to the spiritual (ideal) realm, and vise versa. Zabolotsky believed that the leading role in nature’s development into a unity of the living and dead were forms of matter belonging to humankind as bearer of a “natural consciousness.” According to the philosopher, human beings are born as a result of constant antagonistic transformations. They represent the highest stage of nature’s development and thus have to take responsibility for these transformations. Zabolotsky was convinced that solving nature’s contradictions would lead to the liberation of the human mind – and ultimately also to human immortality.
Unlike their famous sojourners, “these minor Acmeists” have been under-read and under-studied. Their names were surrounded by controversy as critics have often viewed their literary activity through the negative prism of their service to the authorities, or in the light of their particular behaviour towards their Acmeist friends.
Indeed, while propagating general Acmeist principles, such as the innovative treatment of the poetic word, deliberate craftsmanship, clear and concise imagery, creation of a new language and a new culture, Zenkevich and Narbut went in a direction quite different from the rest of Acmeists – namely, the one of extreme glorification of the earthly world in all its manifestations. They pronounced the coming of the “New Adam”, praised not only the life of the body itself, but also life in general, a life that “knows everything, – God, and vice, and death, and immortality” (Gumilev, 1968). A number of their works of Acmeist period is as an amalgamation of crude naturalism, explicit eroticism with unusual fantastic elements and displays, especially in Narbut’s case, an abundance of the ugly, the unnatural, and the deformed.
In recent years, there has been a growth of interest in their poetry due to the newly published volumes of their selected verse, and a number of critical publications pertaining to their oeuvres. These are still rare in Russian and even scarcer in English. A detailed study of Zenkevich’s and Narbut’s literary biographies and their roles in the 20th-century literary process has, thus, become imminent.
In my presentation, I will to provide an overview of Zenkevich’s poetry within and beyond Acmeism and pinpoint his works crucial for understanding of the role he played within it.
This paper reflects my on-going comparative study of two Russian 20th-century poets, Nikolai Zabolotsky and Mikhail Zenkevich. It intends to prove the influence of Acmeism on OBERIU, to draw parallels with other modernistic movements, to reevaluate Zenkevich’s role in the Acmeist movement, and to conduct the first detailed study of Zenkevich in English-language literary criticism.
The Arkhyz Savior (The Face of Christ) is a unique example of the rock-wall ico located in Nizhnii Arkhyz. It was painted inside a dry sunny stone grotto by an unknown artist, on the mountain wall, approximately one hundred meters high up the mountain. It bears a strong resemblance to the famous icon of Christ Pantocrator from Mount Sinai which, according to a popular belief, was painted from the face of Jesus revealed on the famous Shroud of Turin. Some researchers consider the Arkhyz Holy Face not only an icon but an authentic portrait of Jesus as a historic personality. The Middle Church of the Nizhnii Arkhyz architectural complex, located directly across the river from the Face of Christ, was initially named in honor of Christ’s Transfiguration. The hidden location of the Face of Christ could have been chosen as a precaution taken by believers in order to save it from destruction during the iconoclasm.
My paper will discuss the current theories and some hypothesis concerning the time of the icon’s creation, its authorship, and the technique and certain characteristics of isographic presentation. It will relate the appearance of this icon to the activities of the Aleksandr-Athos Zelenchuk Monastery, located here between 1886 and 1936, and hermit-monks who resided in the numerous secluded caves scattered around the mountains, in close proximity to the monastery. It will also connect the icon’s appearance and existence to Onomatodoxy (Imiaslavie, 1907-1916), the heresy associated with and originated by the book of Hieromonk Illarion "In the Caucasian Mountains. The Conversation of Two Hermit Elders about Inner Union of Our Hearts with the Lord through the Prayer of Jesus Christ, or the Spiritual Activity of Contemporary Hermits (Na Gorakh Kavkaza. Beseda dvukh startsev pustunnikov o vnutrennem edinenii s Gospodom nashikh serdets, cherez molitvu Iisus Khristovu, ili dukhovnaia deiatel’nost’ sovremennykh pustynnikov), which first appeared in this area. The Christian monks-hermits lived here at the beginning of the 20th century after they had left the New Athos due to their disagreement both with its officials and the official doctrine of the Orthodox Church because of its non-acceptance of Onomatodoxy. Illarion’s book was published two times, in 1907 and 1910, in Batalpashinsk (now Cherkessk, the present capital of Karachay-Cherkessia), located eighty kilometers from Nizhnii Arkhyz.