Valery Bryusov

A prolific poet, novelist, critic, and organizer, Valery Bryusov was one of the most important figures of the Silver Age. During the 1890s, thanks largely to him, the new school of symbolism, heavily influenced by French-Belgian developments, came into being in Russia. Of his many collections of verse, the best are Tertia Vigilia (1900) and Stephanos (1906). They mirror his Western-oriented, aestheticized, literary position. Bryusov also wrote prose, experimental in both form and theme. His best novel is The Fiery Angel (1907-08). Set in Renaissance Germany and reflecting Bryusov's extensive knowledge of the period, it is a first-person account of a soldier-adventurer's love affair with a woman who claims to be a witch. Many of his short stories are fantasy and science fiction. Bryusov died in 1924.