Zinaida Gippius was a renowned Russian poetess, playwright, prose writer, and critic, as well as one of the key figures of Russian symbolism.

Her contemporaries called her a witch, a sylph, and a sataness. Some admired her literary talent and beauty, comparable to that of Botticelli, while others feared and hated her. Her opinion was valued in literary circles, and she was considered one of the greatest poetesses of the Silver Age. In her works, she often addressed themes of love and hatred.

Zinaida was born in the Tula province. Her father, Nikolai Gippius, was a lawyer, and her mother, Anastasia, managed the household and their four children. Due to her father's frequent transfers, the family moved often, living in Kharkov, St. Petersburg, and Saratov.

In 1880, Nikolai was appointed a judge, and the family moved to Nezhin, where Zinaida could not continue her education at the girls' gymnasium due to its absence in the city. She enrolled in the Kyiv Institute for Noble Maidens but was forced to return home after six months due to illness.

In 1881, her father died of tuberculosis, which deeply affected Zinaida. The family moved to Moscow, but soon her mother was also diagnosed with tuberculosis, and they went to Crimea, and then to the Caucasus, to Borjomi.

Zinaida was a beautiful girl and became passionate about poetry, creating unique works. Her literary career began in 1888 with the publication of poems in the 'Northern Herald.' Later, her stories were published in the 'Herald of Europe,' and critical articles appeared under the pseudonym Anton Krainy. The main themes of her poems included life, love, the people, and the Motherland.

Gippius's early works were an attempt to escape the dull reality into a world of fantasy. Her first collections of stories, 'New People' and 'Mirrors,' were infused with Dostoevsky's ideas.

Inspired by the First Russian Revolution of 1905, Gippius worked actively. In 1908, the collection 'Black on White' was published, in 1912, 'Moon Ants.' In 1911, the novel 'Devil's Doll' was published, and in 1913, 'The Prince-Roman.' She welcomed the 'revolution of the spirit' as the beginning of social transformation.

Gippius met the October Revolution of 1917 with hostility and emigrated to France with her husband. In Paris, she continued to write and criticize the USSR, anticipating its imminent downfall.

Their Paris apartment hosted well-known Russian émigrés such as Nikolai Berdyaev, Ivan Bunin, Ivan Shmelev, Alexander Kuprin, and Konstantin Balmont.

In her last years, Zinaida lived in solitude, which was only brightened by a cat that never left her side. However, on the day of Gippius's death, the cat disappeared.

On September 1, 1945, Zinaida received communion, and on September 9, she passed away. She was buried at the cemetery of Saint-Genèvieve-des-Bois.