Nikolai Rumyantsev (historian)


Nikolai Vasilyevich Rumyantsev was a Soviet author of several polemics on the history of Christianity, translator. He was also a member of the Soviet circle "Atheist" and the League of Militant Atheists. In the 1920s Rumyantsev was one of the leading proponents of the so-called mythological school in the Soviet academia. He authored such publications, as "The Pre-Christian Christ", "The Pagan Christs – the Ancient Precursors of Christianity", "The Apocalypse – The Revelation of John" and "Orthodox Holidays, Their Origin and Class Essence". "The Apocalypse – The Revelation of John" was published under the influence of Abram Ranovich. In that publication Rumyantsev, while not explicitly retracting his earlier opinions, offered a study of early Christianity which stressed not its derivation from supposed ancient mythology, but its intrinsic relation to revolutionary, messianic elements in contemporary Judaism.

Works

Books