G. Petrova. Nik. T-o: To the history of Innokentii Annenskii’s literary pseudonym

In 1904 in Saint-Petersburg was published a small collection of poems entitled “Tikhie pesni” under the pseudonym Nik. T-o. It consisted of 53 original poems and appended translations – “Parnastsy i prokliatye”. In 1906 two more sets of translations were published in the literary appendix to the “Slovo” newspaper and “Severnaia rech” almanac.
As it was revealed later, both “Tikhie pesni” and publications in “Slovo” and “Severnaia rech” belonged to Innokentii Fedorovich Annenskii, director of the Nicholas gymnasium in Tsarskoe Selo.
It must be noted that Annenskii used the pseudonym Nik. T-o only as a poet. His lyrical tragedies “Melanippa-filosof” (SPb., 1901), “Tsar’ Iksion” (SPb., 1902), “Laodamiia” (Severnaia rech’. SPb., 1906) were published under his real name.
“Tikhie pesni”, which were the creative debut of Annenskii as a poet, who had ventured to publish his first collection of poems at the age of 49, received varied critical reception: partly with compassion, partly with sharp criticism, which was largely due to the pseudonym chosen by the poet, interpreted as a pretentious and “naïve” decadent posture.