Faivel Getz, “Talmudic Youth” and “Dear Friend” of Vladimir Solovyov: Materials for a Biography (To the 170th anniversary of two friends, V.S. Solovyov and F.B. Getz)

Abstract

Faivel Bentsilovich Getz (Goetz, 1853–1931) is one of the people whose significance for the history of Russian philosophy and culture of the 19th – early 20th centuries is not in doubt, but their life and work, for various reasons, remain almost blank spots. For more than 20 years, Getz was in close contact with V.S. Solovyov, L.N. Tolstoy and a number of well-known Russian thinkers, writers, and politicians. In this article, we set ourselves several tasks. Firstly, we will briefly reconstruct the life path of this writer, journalist and public figure, both in Russia and after his departure from the country after the revolution. Secondly, we examine in detail his creative heritage, analyze his publications in various languages, and also offer a bibliography of books published by Getz in the 1880s – 1920s. Thirdly, the article contains a commented reprint of two publications about V.S. Solovyov, written by Getz in Riga in 1925 and dedicated to the philosopher's attitude towards Jews and the “Jewish question”. Finally, we publish an article in memory of Getz himself, written in 1932 by his friend E.K. Keuchel, who published many books about V.S. Solovyov both in Russian and in German. By introducing a significant amount of new information and texts into scientific circulation, we expect to arouse interest both in the figure and ideas of F.B. Getz, and to the study of a whole layer of publications about V.S. Solovyov in various languages that were published at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries still eluding the attention of researchers.