Symbiogenesis: the Hidden Face of Constantin Merezhkowsky

Constantin Merezhkowsky was a biologist who is today celebrated for his theory of symbiogenesis, postulated in the early decades of the twentieth century. The authors present a complex perspective on his science, his troubled life & career, disclosing his sordid social & political activities, his eugenics & racist writings, his paedophilia, & his metaphysics. Finally, they describe the context of his elaborate suicide in 1921. (75 refs)