Vladimir Sergeevich Solov'ev--philosopher, religious thinker, poet, essayist, literary critic, dramatist, and social activist--exerted a strong influence on the literature and thought of the Silver Age. Writing in a variety of genres, he addressed many of the literary, theological, philosophical, and political concerns of his day. In a commemorative volume published a decade after Solov'ev's death the Symbolist poet Viacheslav Ivanovich Ivanov claimed of his mentor: "Vladimir Solov'ev was the true educator of our religious aspirations, a lyricist of Orpheus, the bearer of the principle of creative order." Nonetheless, Ivanov admitted that "ten years later, we are engaged in neither the continuation nor the perfection of his task, but only in the search for it once again." Solov'ev is known for the clarity and energy of his prose style as well as of his ideas, and some of his lyric poetry rates among the best of the Silver Age...