O samoubiistve. Psikhologicheskii etiud (On Suicide. A Psychological Sketch)

Paris: YMCA Press, 1931. Softcover. First edition; 7 1/2 x 4 3/4; pp. [2], 5-45, [1]; light turquoise wraps, ruled and printed in dark blue; light fading and two small spots to margins of wraps; small nicks to tips of spine; very good condition.Nikolai Berdiaev (1874 - 1948), the great philosopher, author, and Christian Existentialist, wrote his current work on suicides among the Russian emigre community and the practical and religious reasons behind them, while he himself was exiled in France. Born in an aristocratic military family and studying to, eventually, become a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Moscow, he would be arrested, jailed, and very close to being sent to Siberia for life several times - for criticizing the Holy Synod in 1913, for a conspiracy against the government and for revolutionary activities in 1920, etc. - until he was expelled from Russia in 1922 and sent into exile, together with 160 other intellectuals, on the so called "Philosophers' Ship." He spent time in Berlin, before finally settling in Paris in 1923, where he continued writing and lecturing until his death.