Abstract. The article is devoted to A. G. Rubinstein’s religious and philosophical views.
The work emphasises that in the opera work of the composer, who considered himself
an atheist, two polar themes are combined — demonic and Divine ones, which indicates
some contradictions in his creative views. The author examines Rubinstein’s attitude to
religion, the church, and identifi es the reasons for his atheistic reasoning. It is emphasised
that Anton Grigorievich’s spiritual philosophy fully corresponds to his time and trends
that have become widespread in Western European and Russian culture of the 19th century.
Keywords: Rubinstein, spiritual opera, Western European and Russian culture of the
19th century, demonic, Divine
