ENRAGING LENIN

GORKI, MAXIM (GORKY, GORKIJ).

Ispoved [Russian, i.e. The Confession/A Confession]. Die Beichte. Roman.

Berlin, J. Ladyschnikow, 1908. Contemporary half calf with gilding to spine. Spine with a bit of wear. A bit of light occasional brownspotting, and a marginal marking in red crayon on one page, but overall very nice.

First separate edition - appearing almost simultaneously with the version in the "Znaniye"-compilation - of Gorki's highly influential novel "The Confession"/"A Confession", which created quite a stir when it appeared and caused great distress to both the Russian Orthodox Church, to Leo Tolstoy and to Vladimir Lenin, who mentioned the work specifically on the many occasions when he criticized the attempts to unite Socialism and Christianity.

"The Confession" tells the story of Matvei - based upon the real life story of a religious sectarian in Nizhny Novgorod - who becomes a wanderer through Russia seeking a philosophy to live by. The work is of great historical importance, as it embodies the philosophy of the "God-building" movement that arose in the Russian Empire in the late 19th century. The novel expresses Gorky's belief in humanity, when strong individuals are connected to each other, and it reflects Gorky's disgust with injustice, hypocrisy, and conditions that degrade human dignity as well as his faith in human potential.

Of the work, Gorki himself said: "I am an atheist. In "A Confession" the idea was to show the means by which man could progress from individualism to the collectivist understanding of the world. The main character sees 'God-building' as an attempt to reconstruct social life according to the spirit of collectivism, the spirit of uniting the people on their way to one common goal: liberating man from slavery, within and without."

Order-nr.: 56934