02-05-2025, 08:09 PM
Don't let the title put you off; there's a fascinating chapter 2 by Witalij Morosow.
"The history of alchemy in Imperial Russia represents one of the most unusual and intriguing facets of intellectual life in Eastern Europe. Playing an important role in shaping new Romantic views on fundamental questions of natural history, alchemical literature in Russia around 1800 was not just associated with the search for the elixir vitae or the pursuit of gold-making. Much more importantly, alchemy provided a significant source of symbolic resources for the development of new forms of natural philosophy and theology that had not previously been widespread in Eastern Slavic Orthodox society."
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.100...-75117-2_1
"The history of alchemy in Imperial Russia represents one of the most unusual and intriguing facets of intellectual life in Eastern Europe. Playing an important role in shaping new Romantic views on fundamental questions of natural history, alchemical literature in Russia around 1800 was not just associated with the search for the elixir vitae or the pursuit of gold-making. Much more importantly, alchemy provided a significant source of symbolic resources for the development of new forms of natural philosophy and theology that had not previously been widespread in Eastern Slavic Orthodox society."
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.100...-75117-2_1