Editing Rainis

{{Short description|Latvian poet}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Jānis Pliekšāns
| image              = Rainis.jpg
| caption            = 
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1865|9|11|df=y}}
| birth_place        = "Varslavāni" farm, [[Dunava parish]], [[Courland Governorate]], [[Russian Empire]]
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1929|9|12|1865|9|11|df=y}}
| death_place        = [[Majori]], [[Latvia]]
| occupation         = [[Poet]] <br /> [[Playwright]]<br /> [[translator]]<br /> [[politician]]
| spouse             = [[Aspazija]]
| awards             = [[Order of the Three Stars]], 1st class (1925)
}}
'''Jānis Pliekšāns''' (11 September 1865 – 11 September 1929), known by his [[pseudonym]] '''Rainis''', was a [[Latvia]]n [[Poetry|poet]], [[playwright]], [[Translation|translator]], and [[politics|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|Goethe's]] ''[[Goethe's Faust|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]].

== Early life ==
[[Image:Rainis 1880 by Robert Borchardt.png|thumb|left|upright|Rainis aged 15.]] 
Rainis was born on "Varslavāni" farm, [[Dunava parish]] 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 State Gymnasium No.1|Riga City Gymnasium]] he met and befriended [[Pēteris Stučka]], Dora Pliekšāne's future husband, who later become a prominent Latvian communist.<ref name="LPSEME">Samsons, V. et al. (1970) ''Latvijas PSR Mazā Enciklopēdija'' (Concise Latvian S.S.R. Encyclopedia) 3rd ed. Riga, Latvia: Zinatne.</ref><ref>[http://www.arhivi.lv/sitedata/ZURNALS/zurnalu_raksti/72-85-VESTURE-Gravere.pdf 72-85-Gravere]. arhivi.lv</ref>

== Early career ==
Rainis studied law at the [[University of St. Petersburg]], where he shared a room with [[Pēteris Stučka]]. 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 [[Latvian Song and Dance Festival|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 Page), ''Tēvija'' (Fatherland)<ref>Founded 1884; published in Jelgava from 1886 to 1914. Not to be confused with the daily newspaper of the same name published during the [[Occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany]] in [[World War II]].</ref> and the ''Latvian Conversational Dictionary''.

From 1891 to 1895 Rainis was editor in chief of ''Dienas Lapa'' (Daily Page).<ref name="UNAMS">Unāms, Žanis. ''Es Viņu Pazinu (I Knew Him, Biographical Dictionary)''. Grand Haven, Michigan: Raven. 1975 reprint of 1939 edition.</ref> 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." He is recognized as the father of Latvian socialism. 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. According to ''[[Encyclopedia Britannica]]'', it was while editing the paper that Rainis developed "his own philosophy [which] showed no trace of [[Marxism|Marxist]] materialism—he regarded life as an incessant series of mutations of energy."<ref name="Rainis">{{cite web |title=Rainis |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rainis |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=29 April 2021}}</ref>

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).<ref name="UNAMS" /> In addition to ''Faust'', Rainis also translated the works of [[William Shakespeare]], [[Friedrich Schiller]], [[Heinrich Heine]], and [[Aleksandr Pushkin]] into [[Latvian language|Latvian]]. These translations helped to expand his native language by adding new words to its [[vocabulary]].<ref name="Rainis"/>

== 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 [[Switzerland]] together with his wife Aspazija, settling in [[Castagnola, Switzerland|Castagnola]], a suburb of [[Lugano]]. As an émigré, Rainis wrote:

*plays — ''Zelta Zirgs'' (''The Golden Horse'') (translated to English 2012), ''Jāzeps un viņa brāļi'' (''Joseph and His Brothers''), ''Spēlēju, dancoju'' (''I Played, I Danced''), ''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'').<ref name="UNAMS" />

His dramatic ballad ''Daugava'' contained the first explicit demand for Latvian sovereignty:

{{blockquote|Land, land, what is that land demanded in our song? Land, that is a state.}}

Those lines were removed by the censor when the work was first published in [[Moscow]]. After the defeat of [[Pavel Bermondt-Avalov|Bermondt-Avalov's]] forces at [[Riga]] in November 1919, the ballad was performed at the National Theater to mark the first anniversary of Latvia's proclamation of independence; many soldiers carried this work into battle.

"Zelta Zirgs" ("The Golden Horse") was translated into English in 2012 by Vilis Inde.

During his exile, Rainis published several more works, such as ''Gals un sākums'' (or "End and Beginning" in English, published 1912). These works used political and revolutionary symbolism and also borrowed ideas from [[Hegelianism|Hegelian philosophy]]. He also penned plays which linked Latvian [[folklore]] to the country's modern, political struggles.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rainis |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rainis |website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref>

== Return to Latvia ==
[[File:Rainis3.jpg|thumb|Rainis in the 1920s]]
Rainis and Aspazija returned to Latvia on 4 April 1920 and received a hero's welcome. They had served as the spiritual leaders in the fight for Latvian independence. Rainis, as a member of the Central Committee of the [[Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party]], 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,<ref>[http://izm.izm.gov.lv/ministrija/vesture/pirms-kara.html Ministri pirmskara neatkarīgās Latvijas Republikā] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110311160206/http://izm.izm.gov.lv/ministrija/vesture/pirms-kara.html |date=2011-03-11 }}{{in lang|lv}} Website of the Ministry of Education and Science of Latvia</ref> and a member of the Cultural Fund and (Military) [[Order of Lāčplēsis]] Council. During this period he wrote:

* plays — ''Iļja Muromietis'' (''[[Ilya Muromets]]''), ''Mīla stiprāka par nāvi'' (''[[A Love Stronger Than Death]]''), ''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'' (''[[Castagnola, Switzerland|Castagnola]]'').<ref name="UNAMS" />

Rainis had the ambition of becoming [[President of Latvia|Latvia's president]] and became less prominent in politics when this ambition was not fulfilled.

Rainis did become one of the first recipients of the Commander Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Three Stars]] of Latvia – the nation's highest award – on 28 February 1925.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bormane|first=Anita|date=2014-03-30|title=Triju Zvaigžņu ordenim 90: apbalvojuma dzimšana, nebūšanas un pārvērtības|trans-title=Order of the Three Stars - 90: founding, conflict and transformation of the award|url=https://www.la.lv/triju-zvaigznu-ordenim-90-ta-dzimsana-nebusanas-un-parvertibas/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-11-16|website=[[Latvijas Avīze|LA.LV]]|language=lv}}</ref>

He died in [[Jūrmala|Majori]] in 1929.

== Legacy and commemoration==
[[Image:RainaKaps.jpg|thumb|Rainis' gravesite memorial, Rainis Cemetery]]
[[File:Rainis 1 ruble1990.jpg|thumb|Soviet 1&nbsp;Ruble coin commemorating Rainis]]
A number of Rainis' poetry collections were published posthumously: ''Sirds devējs'', ''Dvēseles Dziesma'', ''Lielās līnijas'', and ''Aizas ziedi''.<ref name="UNAMS" />

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 language|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 rouble]] coin; being buried next to Rainis' grave in Rainis' Cemetery in Riga was an honour reserved for senior Soviet military), ''Daugava'' and other patriotic works were omitted from editions of Rainis' texts prior to the [[Latvian National Awakening|Third Latvian National Awakening]].

== Works ==
* ''[[Tālas noskaņas zilā vakarā]]'' (1903)
* ''[[Vētras sēja]]'' (1905)
* ''[[Zelta zirgs]]'' (1909)
* ''[[Klusā grāmata]]'' (1909)
* ''[[Ave sol!]]'' (1910)
* ''[[Tie, kas neaizmirst]]'' (1911)
* ''[[Indulis un Ārija]]'' (1911)
* ''[[Pūt, vējiņ!]]'' (1913)
* ''[[Krauklītis]]'' (1917)
* ''[[Jāzeps un viņa brāļi]]'' (1919)
* ''[[Daugava (Rainis)|Daugava]]'' (1919)
* ''[[Spēlēju, dancoju]]'' (1919)
* Zelta sietiņš (1920)
* ''[[Iļja Muromietis]]'' (1922)
* Lellīte Lollīte (1924)
* Puķu lodziņš (1924)
* Vasars princīši un princeses (1924)
* Putniņš uz zara (1925)
* Saulīte slimnīcā (1927)
* Rīgas ragana (1928)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.korpuss.lv/klasika/Senie/Rainis/rainissat.htm Collection of Rainis' works] {{in lang|lv}}
* [http://www.360pano.eu/jurmala/ 360° QTVR fullscreen panorama] near Monument to Rainis and Aspazija in Jurmala
* {{Librivox author |id=8376}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1865 births]]
[[Category:1929 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Jēkabpils Municipality]]
[[Category:People from Courland Governorate]]
[[Category:Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party politicians]]
[[Category:Deputies of the Constitutional Assembly of Latvia]]
[[Category:Deputies of the 1st Saeima]]
[[Category:Deputies of the 2nd Saeima]]
[[Category:Deputies of the 3rd Saeima]]
[[Category:Candidates for President of Latvia]]
[[Category:Latvian translators]]
[[Category:Translators to Latvian]]
[[Category:Translators of Alexander Pushkin]]
[[Category:Translators of William Shakespeare]]
[[Category:Latvian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Latvian satirists]]
[[Category:19th-century Latvian writers]]
[[Category:Translators from German]]
[[Category:Latvian male writers]]
[[Category:Male poets]]
[[Category:Male dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:19th-century poets]]
[[Category:20th-century Latvian poets]]
[[Category:20th-century translators]]
[[Category:20th-century dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:19th-century male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Latvian male writers]]
[[Category:Riga State Gymnasium No.1 alumni]]
[[Category:Saint Petersburg State University alumni]]
[[Category:Translators of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]]
[[Category:People's Poets of the Latvian SSR]]
[[Category:Poets from the Russian Empire]]