Mikhail Petrovo-Solovovo

Mikhail Petrovo-Solovovo (1868-1954) was a Russian diplomat and psychical researcher with a particular interest in physical mediumship.

Life and Career

Mikhail Mikhailovich Perovsky-Petrovo-Solovovo was born into a Russian aristocratic family and held various positions in the imperial court. He lost his home and wealth in the Russian Revolution and took up residence in Europe, earning income as a journalist in Brussels and elsewhere. He moved to London in 1936 and later acquired British citizenship.  After inheriting the family title, he became Count Perovsky-Petrovo-Solovovo, and was generally known as Count Solovovo.[1]

Psychical Research

Solovovo joined the Society for Psychical Research in 1890 and was appointed its honorary secretary for Russia. He contributed Russian cases to the society’s research of apparitional experiences and carried out extensive research of physical mediumship. In 1918, he was awarded SPR honorary membership.

Physical Mediums

His book The Scientific Investigation of Physical Phenomena with Mediums was published in St Petersburg in 1900 in Russian and was reviewed by Walter Leaf the following year.[2]

Solovovo was disposed to accept the reality of physical phenomena, but he expressed doubts about the honesty of individual mediums and insisted on the need for stringent precautions.[3]  He was initially positive about the Russian medium Stephan Sambor, whom he investigated in sittings between 1896 and 1902, but later came to believe that Sambor might be using an accomplice in order to cheat.[4]  In 1905 he translated Frank Podmore’s Modern Spiritualism into Russian, adding a supplement that alleged fraud by Jan Guzik, a Polish medium.[5] In 1910 he attended a short series of sittings in Naples with the physical medium Eusapia Palladino, later reporting that he was impressed with some of the phenomena she displayed, while remaining concerned about her resistance to effective controls.[6]  He also expressed suspicions of trickery by DD Home.[7] [8]

Works

Articles

Correspondence: On the production of spurious raps (1893). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 6, 120-22.

Account of some experiments in apparent clairvoyance (1894). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 6, 296-302.

An automatic message conveying information previously unknown (1899-1900). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 9, 65-68.

Tribute: A.N. Aksakoff (1903). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 11, 45-49.

The slate-writing of Mrs Francis (1907-8). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 13, 293-95.

Correspondence: Experiments with Sambor (1908). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 13, 295-96.

The hallucination theory as applied to certain cases of physical phenomena (1909). Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research 21, 436-82.

Notes on Miss Johnson’s paper ‘The education of the sitter’ (1909). Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research 21, 512-15.

M. Courtier’s report on the experiments with Eusapia Palladino at the Paris Institut General Psychologique and some comments thereon (1909). Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research 21, 570-89.

The Naples report on Eusapia Palladino (1910). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 14, 228-31.

Statement: Further sittings with Eusapia Palladino. (1911). Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research 25, 64-65.

Les phenomenes physiques du spiritisme: Quelques difficulties (1911). Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research 25, 413-46.

Statement: Further sittings with Eusapia Palladino (1911). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 15, 22-28.

On the alleged exposure of D.D. Home in France (1912). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 15, 274-88.

Correspondence: Professor Richet’s ‘Trait de Metapsychique’ and the medium Sambor (1924). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 21, 201-2.

Correspondence: The strange and instructive case of Mr ‘Y’ (1924). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 21, 249-53.

Correspondence: Lord Dunraven’s sittings with D.D. Home (1927). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 24, 88-89.

Note on the Gunther-Geffers case (1928). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 24, 306-307.

On some critical methods (1928). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 24, 361-68.

Note on an early exposure of Guzik (1928). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 24, 368-70.

Tribute: R. Baerwald (1929). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 25, 146-47.

The conditions of control at sittings for physical phenomena (1929). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 25, 163-64.

Correspondence: Reply to S.D. Brath (1930). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 26, 79.

A phantasm of the dead conveying information unknown to the percipient (1930). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 26, 95-98.

Correspondence: A correction (1930). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 26, 120.

Some thoughts on D.D. Home (1930). Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research 39, 247-65.

A case of apparent haunting in Moscow (1931). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 27, 95-97.

Correspondence: Lourdes (1931). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 27, 166-67.

Prophecy versus perspicacity (1933). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 28, 67-74.

A note on ‘Radiaesthesia’ in France (1936). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 29, 273-75.

My experiments with J.F. Sambor (1937). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 30, 87-90.

Two series of experiments in automatic writing (1938). Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research 30, 177-180.

Witchcraft in the Belgian Congo (1938). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 30, 230-35.

Incidents of bygone days (1939). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 31, 79-81.

Nikolaeff: A little-known Russian physical medium (1942-45). Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research 47, 261-66.

Book and Report Reviews

The Physical Phenomena of Spiritualism, Fraudulent and Genuine by H. Carrington (1908). Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research 21, 392-404.

The Naturalisation of the Supernatural by F. Podmore (1909). Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research 21, 525-32.

M. Courtier’s report on the experiments with Eusapia Palladino at the Paris Institut General Psychologique and some comments thereon (1909). Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research 23, 570-89.

Personal Experiences in Spiritualism by H. Carrington (1914). Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research 27, 176-85.

Notes on periodicals (1928). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 24, 204-8; 223-24; 231-34; 294-300.

La Lévitation. Contribution historique à L’Etude du Merveilleux by O. Leroy (1928). Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research 38, 272-79.

Notre sixieme sens by C. Richet (1928). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 24, 258-61.

L’ au-dela: Face au Probleme de L’ Immortalite by C. Nordmann (1928). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 24, 287-89.

Okkultismus und Spiritismus und ihre Weltanschauliche Folgerungen by R. Baerwald (1928). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 24, 289-92.

Vintras, Heresiarque et Prophete by M. Garmon (1929). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 25, 72-73.

Psychologie und Charakterologie der Okkultisten by A. Moll (1930). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 26, 32-35.

Etude Medicale de Quelques Guerisons Survenes a Lourdes by H. Monnier (1931) Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research 39, 369-73.

Konnersreuth in Arzlicher Beleuchtung by J. Deutsch (1932). Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research 41, 250-53.

Um Konnersreuth by G. Wunderle (1932). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 27, 310-13.

The Road to Immortality by G. Cummins (1933). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 28, 75-76.

Das Ratsel von Konnersreuth im Lichte eines neuen Falles von Stigmatisation by A. Lechler (1933) Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 28, 76-77.

Okkultismus Tauschungun und Tatsachen by Von F. Moser (1935). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 29, 135-37.

Lord Halifax’s Ghost Book foreword by Viscount Halifax (1936). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 29, 313-15.

Mr Sludge the Medium. Being the Life and Adventure of Daniel Dunglas Home by H. Wyndham (1937). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 21, 42-45.

Trance: Wanderungen im Grenzgebiete des Seelenlebens by Kramer, von Hugo (1939). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 31, 43-44.

Les Métapsychoses, la Metapsychorragie, la Télépathie, La Hantise by P.T. Bret (1939). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 31, 58-59.

This Spiritualism: Results of an Inquiry by C.J. Seymour (1940). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 31, 200-2.

Melvyn Willin

Literature

Leaf, W. (1901). Review: The Scientific Investigation of Physical Phenomena with Mediums by Count Solovovo.  Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research 15, 416-22.

Salter, W.H. (1954). Obituary: Count Perovsky-Petrovo-Solovovo. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 37, 366-68.

Solovovo, M. (1911). Statement: Further sittings with Eusapia Palladino. Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research 25, 64-65.

Solovovo, M. (1912). On the alleged exposure of D.D. Home in France. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 15, 274-88.

Solovovo, M. (1927). Correspondence: Lord Dunraven’s sittings with D.D. Home. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 24, 88-89.

Solovovo, M. (1928a). Note on an early exposure of Guzik (1928). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 24, 368-70.

Solovovo, M. (1928b). On some critical methods. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 24, 361-68.

Solovovo, M. (1937). My experiments with J.F. Sambor. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 30, 87-90.

Endnotes

Footnotes

- 1. Salter (1954), 366-67.

- 2. Leaf (1901), 416-22.

- 3. Solovovo (1928b), 361-68.

- 4. Solovovo (1937), 88-89.

- 5. Solovovo (1928a), 368-70.

- 6. For instance, Solovovo (1911), 64-65.

- 7. Solovovo (1912), 288; Solovovo (1927), 88-89.

- 8.

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