Frey, William

Vladimir Gaines was born on October 16, 1839 in the Latvian village of Vitebsk province in marching conditions. His father is the general of the Russian service of Konstantin Gaines . During the Turkish campaign, C. C. Gaines married in 1830 in Bucharest to Aristei Konstantinovna Kominari-Korezo, the daughter of a Greek emigrant (from an "old aristocratic family"). The family had 3 sons and 3 daughters, but there was no well-being and harmony in the family. K. K. Gaines lived separately from the children and wife with the wife of the doctor’s assistant, and the assistant himself lived with them ^[2] .

Vladimir, the youngest of three sons, was brought up in the Brest-Litovsk cadet corps (later the Konstantinovsky military school ), and then studied at the Artillery Academy in St. Petersburg. In 1858, the Finnish regiment was enrolled in the Life Guards. At the end of the course, first in the artillery, and then at the General Staff Academy, Vladimir Gaines (1865) was seconded to the Pulkovo Observatory and participated in the measurements of the 52nd parallel.

Being the captain of the General Staff, he emigrated to the USA in 1868 , where in 1871 he founded a communal farm - the Cedar Valley Commune . ^[3] A few years later the Commune disintegrated, and after many years of wandering, during which he went through the most diverse stages of “black labor”, he moved to England.

In 1868, he married Maria Evstafievna Slavinskaya, who shared his beliefs. In the same year, he and his wife settled in New York. As a sign of the beginning of a new life, he took the pseudonym William Frey (from German. Frei or English. Free - "free"). From the beginning of the 1870s, he began to publish his articles in print and became known abroad and in Russia under a pseudonym.

In the 1870s Frey posted correspondence, essays from American life, and articles on various social issues in Domestic Notes , Dele , Week and Vestnik Evropy . But of particular interest is his correspondence with Leo Tolstoy.

Frey belongs to those rare natures for whom the search for the truth of life is the only and exclusive incentive for their activity. Featuring outstanding abilities and talents, Frey received a serious scientific education and soon attracted attention in the higher military fields; a brilliant career opened before him; but the public upsurge of the 1860s, capturing Frey, forced him to take a different path.

Thoughtful from an early age, sensitive to the highest ethical issues, Frey set himself the task of finding a life form that would ensure a comfortable life for the most disadvantaged masses. At first he sought the realization of his ideal in socialist theories and practical attempts to build life on a new economic basis, but at the end of his life he came to the conclusion that “economic reform is still not enough to improve people, that property is not the root of evil, but only one of numerous manifestations of egoism ”, which should be based on a religious feeling that encapsulates the ideas of altruistic philosophy in living poetic images; from here Frey defines religion as "a set of images embodying a life based on altruism ..." "without this figurative poetic embodiment, moral rules could not be firmly grafted to people."

Frey wanted to get acquainted with Leo Tolstoy and his teaching, which seemed to him close to the "positive religion" of Auguste Comte. In the fall of October 7, 1885, he visited Tolstoy in Yasnaya Polyana. With his ideas and, most importantly, his way of life, he had a great influence on Leo Tolstoy, who, after meeting with Frey in Yasnaya Polyana, made the first steps towards vegetarianism. The correspondence of Frey and Leo Tolstoy was preserved and published. Upon learning of Frey’s death, Tolstoy wrote to E.P. Sveshnikova: “I knew that dear Frey was sick, and I was waiting for this news. You were not mistaken in saying that it was one of the best people whom I had come to know. And what a good death! ”(Vol. 64, p. 190).

When he arrived in St. Petersburg in 1885, William Frey met with Vladimir Vernadsky , Fedor Oldenburg and his brother Sergei Oldenburg , he had a strong influence on the future great Russian scientists. Strong in spirit, surprisingly philanthropic, talented students united in the "Brotherhood". The Brotherhood circle began its fight against injustice in society with the enlightenment of the people. It included: S.F. Oldenburg and F.F. Oldenburg, Prince D.I. Shakhovsky , A.N. Sirotinin (who later became Shakhovsky's wife), V.I. Vernadsky and his wife N. E. Staritskaya (Vernadskaya), I. M. Grevs , A. A. Kornilov and others. It was a union in the name of moral principles. DI Shakhovskoy expressed the essence of the approach to the philosophy of life: “work as much as possible; consume (for yourself) as little as possible; look at other people's needs as ours. ” At the end of the university, the members of the circle decided to buy a small house on the estate near St. Petersburg in order to meet in the summer and coordinate social activities. Probably it was the "Priyutino" estate, members of the circle of those who were in it were called - "shelters" ^[4] .

With Frey was the elder brother of Lenin A. I. Ulyanov ^[5] . Alexander Ulyanov was associated with the Oldenburg Brotherhood through the work of the student scientific and literary society ^[4] and, possibly, met Frey at the same time as the Oldenburgers. Later, the younger Ulyanov chose one of the early pseudonyms "William Frey" ^[5] .

In the early 1880s, William Frey and his family moved to London, hoping to later move to Russia. In London, he attended lectures and meetings of the Positivist Society, collaborated with positivist theorists J. Bridges , F. Harrison , E. Beasley . After spending several months in Russia, William Frey returned to London, where, despite a lack of funds and lung disease, he continued to participate in the activities of the Positivist Society.

In London, Frey worked in a small printing house arranged by him with several friends, lived with his family in dire need, and tried to spread his views among Russian immigrants and the British. In July 1886, he met Stepnyak-Kravchinsky, to whom he subsequently left his correspondence with Tolstoy. Frey died on November 5, 1888 from tuberculosis. Before his death (November 2), he wrote a letter “To Russian Friends” (collection “Russian Propylaea”, vol. I. M., 1915, pp. 360-362).

He was buried at Edmonton Cemetery in North London, next to the grave of John Stuart Mill .

• Brother - Konstantin Konstantinovich Gaines (1831 — after 1905) - retired artillery major general, writer.
• Brother - Alexander Konstantinovich Gaines (1834–1892), Lieutenant General, ethnographer.
• Sister - ?
• Sister - ?
• Sister - ?

• Frey W. American Life. First letter // Domestic notes. 1870.№ 1. P. 215—263
• WF <Gaines V. K.> The Women's Question in America // Domestic Notes. 1872. No. 4. P.503-538
• Frey V. A letter from a communist // Go! 1874. No. 3. S.120-146
• F. <Gaines V. K.> The Presidential Campaign in America and the Appearance of the Third Party // Domestic Notes. 1877. No. 2. S. 415-453
• V.Z. <Gaines V.K.> The waste of public lands by the American Congress // Domestic notes. 1877. No. 5. P.81-97
• Letters of V. Frey to L.N. Tolstoy. Geneve: M.Elpidine, 1877
• Correspondence and personal visits of William Frey with L. N. Tolstoy. B.M .: B.I., 1886
• [Addition to the letter (first) written by Leo Tolstoy from V. Frey] // Russian propylaea. T.1. M .: Tipo-lit. T-va I. N. Kushnarev and Co., 1915. S.279-294
• [Third letter to L. N. Tolstoy] // Russian propylaea. T.1. S.342-362

• Frey W. Vegetarianism in connection with the Religion of Humanity. London: Ludgate Circus. [1889]
• Frey W. On Religion. A Paper read before the Fellowship of the New Life. By William Frey. Price two pence. Printed by W. Frey and Brothers. London 1889

• Baturinsky V. Gaines, Vladimir Konstantinovich // Russian Biographical Dictionary : in 25 volumes. - SPb. - M. , 1896-1918.
• Big Encyclopedia. T.19. SPb .: Tip-lit. book publishing. so-called "Enlightenment", 1904. P.433;
• Biryukov P. I. L. N. Tolstoy and V. Frey // “Past years”, 1908. September;
• Vengerov S. A. Sources of the Dictionary of Russian writers. T.1. SPb .: Type. Imp. Ak. Science, 1900. P.718;
• Gershenzon M.V. Frey // Russian Propylaea. T.1. M .: Tipo-lit. T-va I. N. Kushnarev and Co., 1915. S. 276-279;
• Gusev N.N. L.N. Tolstoy. Materials for the biography from 1881 to 1885. M.: "Science", 1970. S. 490-496;
• Acquaintances. Album M. I. Semevsky. SPb .: Type. V. S. Balasheva, 1888. P.247;
• Kovalevsky M. M. Rivalry of German, French and English influences on the Russian intelligentsia since the middle of the last century // Herald of Europe. 1916. No. 1. S.220-227;
• Obolensky L. E. Scientific foundations of the doctrine of love // ​​Russian wealth. 1886. No. 1. C.1-28;
• Margolin M.M. Frey, William // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Mastet G. Spirit and perfume // Complete works. T. 1. S. "Community Frey." p. 206, 149-152.
• Perper M. I. Preface to the publication of a letter by L. N. Tolstoy to V. Frey // Lit. inheritance. T.69. Book 1. M.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences. 1961. S.533-536;
• Pershin P.P. Recollection of V. Frey (V.K. Gaines) // Volzhsky Vestnik. 1891. No. 292J 297;
• Reinhardt R., “An Extraordinary Person” and F.'s Letters to L. N. Tolstoy (Volzhsky Herald, 1891 and 1895)
• Reinhardt N.V. From the History of the 60s: An Extraordinary Person (William Frey) // Science and Life. 1905. No. 2, 3, 4;
• Skorokhodov A. S. V. Frey and L. N. Tolstoy: from the history of positivism // Russian Sociology. Historical and sociological essays. M .: Publishing House of the Russian University for the Humanities. 1997;
• Tenoromo I. Memoirs of L. N. Tolstoy. St. Petersburg: Ed. "Education", 1907. S.18-24;
• Tolstoy L.N. So what do we do? Chap. 28-30 // Tolstoy L.N. Cannot be silent. M., 1985;
• Faresov A.I. Seventies. SPb .: Type. M. Merkusheva. 1905. S.291-331;
• Frey (William). Encyclopedic Dictionary. T.27. SPb .: Printing house of the Joint-stock company Brockhaus-Efron, 1902. P.713;

• Beesley ES The life and death of William Frey. London: Reeves and Turner, 1888;
• Maude A. The life of Tolstoy: later years. London: Constable and Com. Ltd. 1910. P. 212-221.