Zinaida Gippius

Zinaida Nikolayevna Gippius (Russian: Зинаида Николаевна Гиппиус, IPA: [zʲɪnɐˈidə nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvnə ˈɡʲipʲɪus] ; 20 November [O.S. 8 November] 1869 – 9 September 1945) was a Russian poet, playwright, novelist, editor and religious thinker. She is considered one of the major figures in Russian symbolism.

She began writing at an early age, and by the time she met Dmitry Merezhkovsky in 1888 was already a published poet. The two married in 1889. Gippius published her first book of poetry, Collection of Poems. 1889–1903, in 1903, and her second collection, Collection of Poems. Book 2. 1903–1909, in 1910. After the 1905 Revolution, the couple became critics of the tsarist government; they spent several years abroad during this time, including trips for treatment of health issues. They denounced Russia's 1917 October Revolution, seeing it as a cultural disaster, and in 1919 emigrated to Poland.

After living in Poland they moved to France, and then to Italy, continuing to publish and to take part in Russian émigré circles, though Gippius's harsh literary criticism made enemies. The tragedy of the exiled Russian writer was a major topic for Gippius in emigration, but she also continued to explore mystical and covertly sexual themes, publishing short stories, plays, novels, poetry, and memoirs. The death of Merezhkovsky in 1941 was a major blow to Gippius, who died a few years later in 1945.