Scientific lecture at the meeting was delivered by Elena Soini, Doctor of Philology, Leading Researcher at the Institute of Linguistics, Literature and History KarRC RAS. For many years she has been studying the life and legacy of the Russian artist, writer and thinker Nicholas Roerich, whose biography is tied to Karelia. Elena Soini told about the life and work of Nicholas Roerich in Sortavala in the context of 1917-1918 historical events. The lecture was dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the painter's birth.
Speaking: Elena Soini, Doctor of Philology, Leading Research, Institute of Linguistics, Literature and History KarRC RAS
– Much of Nicholas Roerich's painting and literary legacy is connected with our land: about 200 paintings and sketches, his only play “Mercy” and novelette “Flame,” many poems and articles, – told Elena Soini.
Nicholas Roerich visited Karelia for the first time on December 16, 1916. By that time he was a well-known artist who extolled the idea of the folk nature of art. The Ladoga area enthralled the painter, and he spent the next two years in the neighborhood of Sortavala. In particular, in 1917 he lived on the shore of Juhinlahti Bay in the estate of Oskar Relander, Rector of Sortavala Seminary. Nicholas Roerich has painted a few landscapes dedicated to Juhinlahti.
In December 1917 Finland became a sovereign state. In January 1918, hostilities between Suojeluskunta, Finnish White Guards, and small Russian garrisons began in Sortavala. On January 27, the Civil War broke out in Finland. It also affected men of art. Thus, one of the most famous writers from Sortavala, the author of “Out to Borrow Matches”, Maiju Lassila sided with the Red Guards.
In this historical context, the lecturer described how Nicholas Roerich dealt with the question of the mission of art in an extreme geopolitical situation and of the relationships between cultural figures from different countries in such a trying period. According to Elena Soini, the artist refused to be drawn into the political struggle, “intuitively feeling the ambiguity of the goals of the things that were happening".
– Yet, to him, the world became a chaos, a clot of uncontrollable, nonhuman energies, but realized in human society. This world had lost order and harmony. The persistent key theme in Nicholas Roerich's paintings is the theme of expectation. The artist suffers from a state of hopelessness, he is psychologically unable to cope with reports of robberies, murders, arson, and surrenders to the power of panic sentiments, – the researcher remarked.
Participants of the KarRC RAS Learned Council meeting
Unlike Maiju Lassila, who was about to abandon creative work, Nicholas Roerich, on the contrary, chose to focus solely on creative endeavors in the extreme situation. In a time of uncertainty, in 1917-1918, the artist discovered the teachings of Ramakrishna, which guided him towards his subsequent journey to the East.
– The Karelian period was outstandingly fruitful in the work of Nicholas Roerich. He revisited the role of art in the tradition of the romanticists and neo-romanticists. It was his appreciation of art that helped him understand such ideas as statehood and fatherland. The path to India, which made Nicholas Roerich world famous, also started in Karelia: this is where the ideas that governed him throughout his life were crystallized, and this is where his journey around the world began, – summarized Doctor Soini.
Discussing the lecture at the Learned Council meeting, colleagues emphasized its interdisciplinarity. The scientist employed the comparative-contrastive, typological and historical-literary method in her studies. Documents from Russian and foreign public and private archives were analyzed and introduced into academic circulation, significantly enriching the available information about the artist's life.
Director of the Institute of Linguistics, Literature and History KarRC RAS Irina Novak reminded that Elena Soini is the author of three monographs and numerous academic articles devoted to the life and work of Nicholas Roerich.
– One of the monographs, “Roerich: Hieroglyphics of Northern Life” was published in 2022. It is of great interest: in addition to a thorough analysis of the cultural legacy of Roerich as a writer, artist and public figure, many paintings from the Karelian period are reproduced there for the first time. I suggest paying special attention to it, – the Director noted.
She added that a summary of the studies of the Karelian period in the life and work of Nicholas Roerich should be presented also at the international level, in particular, at the 24th International Conference “Roerich’s Legacy”, which will be held in November in St. Petersburg. Members of KarRC RAS Learned Council unanimously voted in favor of this proposal.
The council meeting also discussed important administrative issues. Nina Nemova, RAS Academician, Head of Research Area at KarRC RAS, told about new approaches to shaping research themes under state assignment.
KarRC RAS Director General Olga Bakhmet told about the work to set up dissertation councils
Corresponding Academician, KarRC RAS Director General Olga Bakhmet presented the interim results of the work on setting up dissertation councils at the Karelian Research Center RAS. The director told about the criteria that organizations seeking to open dissertation councils are to fulfill. According to these criteria, KarRC RAS can consider establishing dissertation councils on “Ecology” and “Mathematical Modeling, Numerical Methods and Software Complexes”. This work will be continued in 2025.
