Rainis
Encyclopedia
Rainis was the pseudonym
of Jānis Pliekšāns ( — d. September 12, 1929) was a Latvian
poet
, playwright
, translator
, and politician
. Rainis' works include the classic plays Uguns un nakts (Fire and Night, 1905) and Indulis un Ārija (Indulis and Ārija, 1911), and a highly regarded translation of Goethe's Faust
. His works had a profound influence on the literary Latvian language
, and the ethnic symbol
ism he employed in his major works has been central to Latvian nationalism
.
in Jēkabpils municipality
.
His father, Krišjānis Pliekšāns (ca. 1828–1891), was a tenant farmer
. His mother was Dārta, née Grikovska (ca. 1828–1899), and he had two sisters, Līze (1854–1897) and Dora (1870–1950). During his education at the Riga City Gymnasium
he met and befriended Pēteris Stučka
, Dora Pliekšāne's future husband, who later become a prominent Latvian communist.
. While still a student, Rainis was already collecting folk songs, writing satirical and lyric poetry, and translating literature. Together with Stučka he edited a collection of epigrams and satire, Mazie dunduri (The Small Gadflies) and published Apdziedāšanas dziesmas (Mocking Songs) about the third All-Latvian Song Festival
. The two men, however, would later split because of the differences between socialist and communist ideologies.
After completing his studies, he worked at the Vilnius
regional courtrooms and with Andrejs Stērsts in Jelgava
. Rainis wrote for Dienas Lapa
(The Daily Sheet), Tēvija (Fatherland) and the Latvian Conversational Dictionary.
From 1891 to 1895 Rainis was editor in chief of Dienas Lapa. The Dienas Lapa scene was mostly a group of young Latvian liberal and socialist intellectuals who came to be known as the New Current
. After attending the congress of the Second International in 1893, Rainis began to emphasize socialist ideology and news of socialist events in "Dienas Lapa." It was during this period that he met Aspazija
(pseudonym of Elza Pliekšāne, born Rozenberga), another Latvian poet and playwright active in the New Current.
Because of their social criticism and calls for various reforms, the New Current was viewed as a seditious movement and was the subject of a Tsarist crackdown. In 1897 Rainis was arrested and deported first to Pskov
, and later to Vyatka guberniya
(now Kirov Oblast
). It was during this period of internal exile that Rainis translated Faust and other works from classical literature. Here he also produced his first collection of poems, Tālas noskaņas zilā vakarā (Far-Off Moods on a Blue Evening, 1903).
together with his wife Aspazija, settling in Castagnola, a suburb of Lugano
. As an émigré, Rainis wrote:
His dramatic ballad Daugava contained the first explicit demand for Latvian sovereignty:
Those lines were removed by the censor when the work was first published in Moscow
. After the defeat of Bermondt-Avalov's forces at Riga
in November 1919, the ballad was given a performance at the National Theater to mark the first anniversary of Latvia's proclamation of independence; many soldiers carried this work into battle.
, resumed his political activities and was a member of the Constitutional Assembly of Latvia
(Satversmes sapulce) and Saeima
(Parliament) and of the Ministry of Education Arts Department, founder and director of the Dailes Theater, and director of the Latvian National Theatre from 1921 to 1925, Minister of Education from December, 1926 to January, 1928, and a member of the Cultural Fund and (Military) Order of Lāčplēsis
Council. During this period he wrote:
Rainis had the ambition of becoming Latvia's president and became less prominent in politics when this ambition was not fulfilled.
During the 1920s, Rainis was among the candidates considered for a Nobel Prize in Literature
. His journals from these years exhibit both his great longing for this international recognition, as well as his bitter disappointment at never receiving the award.
He died in Majori
in 1929.
A number of Rainis' poetry collections were published posthumously: Sirds devējs, Dvēseles Dziesma, Lielās līnijas, and Aizas ziedi.
Rainis' statue at the Esplanāde in Riga is a gathering-place that highlights the complex way his multi-faceted career and works are interpreted. It is the focal point for the national poetry festival, always held on his birthday, as well as a focus for the left wing, from the Social Democrats to the radical opposition to Latvia's education reform (in part because of Rainis' support for minority schools; he was instrumental to the founding of Belarusian
schools in Latvia). Similarly, criticism of his work has often been strongly affected by politics; while the Soviets emphasized his socialism
(his image even appeared on a commemorative Soviet ruble
coin; being buried next to Rainis' grave in Rainis' Cemetery in Riga was an honor reserved for senior Soviet military), Daugava and other patriotic works were omitted from editions of Rainis' texts prior to the Third Latvian National Awakening
.
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of Jānis Pliekšāns ( — d. September 12, 1929) was a Latvian
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
poet
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, translator
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
, and politician
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
. Rainis' works include the classic plays Uguns un nakts (Fire and Night, 1905) and Indulis un Ārija (Indulis and Ārija, 1911), and a highly regarded translation of Goethe's Faust
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
. His works had a profound influence on the literary Latvian language
Latvian language
Latvian is the official state language of Latvia. It is also sometimes referred to as Lettish. There are about 1.4 million native Latvian speakers in Latvia and about 150,000 abroad. The Latvian language has a relatively large number of non-native speakers, atypical for a small language...
, and the ethnic symbol
Symbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
ism he employed in his major works has been central to Latvian nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
.
Early life
Rainis was born in "Varslavāni" farm, Dunava parishDunava parish
- Towns, villages and settlements of Dunava parish :*...
in Jēkabpils municipality
Jēkabpils municipality
Jēkabpils municipality is a municipality in Selonia, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merging Ābeļi parish, Dignāja parish, Dunava parish, Kalna parish, Leimaņi parish, Rubene parish and Zasa parish the administrative centre located in Jēkabpils city, which is not included in the...
.
Tenant farmer
A tenant farmer is one who resides on and farms land owned by a landlord. Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management; while tenant farmers contribute their labor along with at times varying...
. His mother was Dārta, née Grikovska (ca. 1828–1899), and he had two sisters, Līze (1854–1897) and Dora (1870–1950). During his education at the Riga City Gymnasium
Riga State Gymnasium No.1
Riga State Gymnasium No.1 , the oldest school in the Baltic states, offers secondary education in Riga, the capital of Latvia....
he met and befriended Pēteris Stučka
Peteris Stucka
Pēteris Stučka, sometimes spelt Pyotr Ivanovich Stuchka ; b. in Koknese parish, Governorate of Livonia — d. January 25, 1932 in Moscow) was the head of the Bolshevik government in Latvia during the Latvian War of Independence, one of the leaders of the New Current movement in the late 19th...
, Dora Pliekšāne's future husband, who later become a prominent Latvian communist.
Early career
Rainis studied law at the University of St. Petersburg, where he shared a room with Pēteris StučkaPeteris Stucka
Pēteris Stučka, sometimes spelt Pyotr Ivanovich Stuchka ; b. in Koknese parish, Governorate of Livonia — d. January 25, 1932 in Moscow) was the head of the Bolshevik government in Latvia during the Latvian War of Independence, one of the leaders of the New Current movement in the late 19th...
. While still a student, Rainis was already collecting folk songs, writing satirical and lyric poetry, and translating literature. Together with Stučka he edited a collection of epigrams and satire, Mazie dunduri (The Small Gadflies) and published Apdziedāšanas dziesmas (Mocking Songs) about the third All-Latvian Song Festival
Latvian Song and Dance Festival
The Latvian Song and Dance Festival is an important event in Latvian culture and social life. The All-Latvian Song and Dance Festival has been held since 1873, normally every five years. During the festivals exhibitions of photography, art and folk craft, orchestra concerts, and a festive parade...
. The two men, however, would later split because of the differences between socialist and communist ideologies.
After completing his studies, he worked at the Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
regional courtrooms and with Andrejs Stērsts in Jelgava
Jelgava
-Sports:The city's main football team, FK Jelgava, plays in the Latvian Higher League and won the 2009/2010 Latvian Football Cup.- Notable people :*August Johann Gottfried Bielenstein - linguist, folklorist, ethnographer...
. Rainis wrote for Dienas Lapa
Dienas Lapa
Dienas Lapa was a Latvian newspaper published from 1886 to 1905. In 1893 Dienas Lapa became orientated towards Marxist and Social Democratic ideas. Dienas Lapa became a rallying point for revolutionary intellectuals in Latvia. The editors of the newspaper were Pēteris Stučka and Jānis Pliekšāns...
(The Daily Sheet), Tēvija (Fatherland) and the Latvian Conversational Dictionary.
From 1891 to 1895 Rainis was editor in chief of Dienas Lapa. The Dienas Lapa scene was mostly a group of young Latvian liberal and socialist intellectuals who came to be known as the New Current
New Current
The New Current in the history of Latvia was a broad leftist social and political movement that followed the First Latvian National Awakening and culminated in the 1905 Revolution...
. After attending the congress of the Second International in 1893, Rainis began to emphasize socialist ideology and news of socialist events in "Dienas Lapa." It was during this period that he met Aspazija
Aspazija
Aspazija was the pen name of Elza Pliekšāne , a Latvian poet and playwright. Aspazija is the Latvian transliteration of Aspasia.- Biography :...
(pseudonym of Elza Pliekšāne, born Rozenberga), another Latvian poet and playwright active in the New Current.
Because of their social criticism and calls for various reforms, the New Current was viewed as a seditious movement and was the subject of a Tsarist crackdown. In 1897 Rainis was arrested and deported first to Pskov
Pskov
Pskov is an ancient city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in the northwest of Russia about east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: -Early history:...
, and later to Vyatka guberniya
Guberniya
A guberniya was a major administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire usually translated as government, governorate, or province. Such administrative division was preserved for sometime upon the collapse of the empire in 1917. A guberniya was ruled by a governor , a word borrowed from Latin ,...
(now Kirov Oblast
Kirov Oblast
Kirov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Kirov. Population: -History:In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Vyatka remained a place of exile for opponents of the tsarist regime, including many prominent revolutionary figures.In 1920, a number of...
). It was during this period of internal exile that Rainis translated Faust and other works from classical literature. Here he also produced his first collection of poems, Tālas noskaņas zilā vakarā (Far-Off Moods on a Blue Evening, 1903).
Foreign exile
Rainis was also socially active and politically prominent, being one of the national leaders of the Revolution of 1905 in Latvia and the New Current that foreshadowed it. With the failure of the Revolution, he emigrated to SwitzerlandSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
together with his wife Aspazija, settling in Castagnola, a suburb of Lugano
Lugano
Lugano is a city of inhabitants in the city proper and a total of over 145,000 people in the agglomeration/city region, in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy...
. As an émigré, Rainis wrote:
- plays — Zelta Zirgs (The Golden Horse), Jāzeps un viņa brāļi (Joseph and His Brothers), Spēlēju, dancoju (I Played, I Sang), Daugava (The Daugava, 1916), and Ģirts Vilks;
- poetry — Klusā grāmata (The Quiet Book), Vēja nesta lapas (Leaves Upon the Wind), Tie, kas neaizmirst (Those, Who Do Not Forget), Gals un sākums (The End and the Beginning), Ave sol, and Sveika, brīvā Latvija (Hello, Free Latvia).
His dramatic ballad Daugava contained the first explicit demand for Latvian sovereignty:
Those lines were removed by the censor when the work was first published in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. After the defeat of Bermondt-Avalov's forces at Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
in November 1919, the ballad was given a performance at the National Theater to mark the first anniversary of Latvia's proclamation of independence; many soldiers carried this work into battle.
Return to Latvia
Rainis and Aspazija returned to Latvia on April 4, 1920. Rainis, as a member of the Central Committee of the Latvian Social Democratic Workers' PartyLatvian Social Democratic Workers' Party
The Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party is a centre-left, social democratic party in Latvia. It has a long history but is not represented in the current parliament of Latvia.-History:...
, resumed his political activities and was a member of the Constitutional Assembly of Latvia
Constitutional Assembly of Latvia
Constitutional Assembly of Latvia was Latvia's first elected legislative body. It's main task was creating the constitution of Latvia - Satversme, which is still in effect to this day. The speaker of Assembly was Jānis Čakste, who later became the first president of Latvia...
(Satversmes sapulce) and Saeima
Saeima
Saeima is the parliament of the Republic of Latvia. It is a unicameral parliament consisting of 100 members who are elected by proportional representation, with seats allocated to political parties which gain at least 5% of the popular vote. Elections are scheduled to be held once every four years,...
(Parliament) and of the Ministry of Education Arts Department, founder and director of the Dailes Theater, and director of the Latvian National Theatre from 1921 to 1925, Minister of Education from December, 1926 to January, 1928, and a member of the Cultural Fund and (Military) Order of Lāčplēsis
Order of Lacplesis
The Order of Lāčplēsis, the first and the highest Latvian military award, was established in 1919 on the initiative of the Commander of Latvian Army, during the Latvian War of Independence, Jānis Balodis. The Lāčplēsis Order is awarded in the first, second and third class. Initially, a holder of...
Council. During this period he wrote:
- plays — Iļja Muromietis (Ilya MurometsIlya MurometsIlya Muromets is a Kievan Rus' epic hero. He is celebrated in numerous byliny . Along with Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich he is regarded as the greatest of all the legendary bogatyrs...
), Mīla stiprāka par nāvi (A Love Stronger Than DeathA Love Stronger Than DeathA Love Stronger Than Death is a play by Latvian writer Jānis Rainis.It was translated into Esperanto in 1933, by Ints Ĉaĉe, and then translated from Esperanto to Czech by Tomáš Pumpr....
), Rīgas ragana (The Witch of Riga); - poetry — Treji loki, Sudrabota gaisma (A Silvery Light), Mēness meitiņa (Moon Girl), Zelta sietiņš (The Gold Strainer), and others;
- memoirs — Kastaņjola (CastagnolaCastagnolaCastagnola is a former municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. Today it is a quarter of the city of Lugano.-Overview:It was first recorded in 1335 as Castigniola....
).
Rainis had the ambition of becoming Latvia's president and became less prominent in politics when this ambition was not fulfilled.
During the 1920s, Rainis was among the candidates considered for a Nobel Prize in Literature
Nobel Prize in Literature
Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
. His journals from these years exhibit both his great longing for this international recognition, as well as his bitter disappointment at never receiving the award.
He died in Majori
Jurmala
Jūrmala is a city in Latvia, about 25 kilometers west of Riga. Jūrmala is a resort town stretching and sandwiched between the Gulf of Riga and the Lielupe River...
in 1929.
Legacy
Rainis' statue at the Esplanāde in Riga is a gathering-place that highlights the complex way his multi-faceted career and works are interpreted. It is the focal point for the national poetry festival, always held on his birthday, as well as a focus for the left wing, from the Social Democrats to the radical opposition to Latvia's education reform (in part because of Rainis' support for minority schools; he was instrumental to the founding of Belarusian
Belarusian language
The Belarusian language , sometimes referred to as White Russian or White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people...
schools in Latvia). Similarly, criticism of his work has often been strongly affected by politics; while the Soviets emphasized his socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
(his image even appeared on a commemorative Soviet ruble
Soviet ruble
The Soviet ruble or rouble was the currency of the Soviet Union. One ruble is divided into 100 kopeks, ....
coin; being buried next to Rainis' grave in Rainis' Cemetery in Riga was an honor reserved for senior Soviet military), Daugava and other patriotic works were omitted from editions of Rainis' texts prior to the Third Latvian National Awakening
Latvian National Awakening
The Latvian National Awakening refers to three distinct but ideologically related National revival movements:* the First Awakening refers to the national revival led by the Young Latvians from the 1850s to the 1880s,...
.
External links
Photos and videos
- 360º QTVR fullscreen panorama near Monument to Rainis and Aspazija in Jurmala