Shestov Leo (pseudo.; present name and fam. - Lev Isaakovich Shvartsman) [1866, Kyiv - 1938, Paris], Russian existentialist philosopher and writer. He graduated from the law faculty of Kyiv University (1889). In 1895-1914 he lived mainly in Switzerland, from 1914 - in Moscow, from 1918 - in Kyiv, from 1920 - in Paris. Combining and in his own way emphasizing the motives of F. Nietzsche and F.M. Dostoevsky, Shestov anticipated the main ideas of later existentialism. Already at the turn of the century, as if in anticipation of future world catastrophes, Shestov speaks of the tragic absurdity of human existence and puts forward the image of a doomed, but exacting his sovereign rights, "hero" challenging the entire Universe. The collected works include three main philosophical works of Shestov: Potestas clavium (The Power of the Keys) (1915), Athens and Jerusalem (1938), On the Scales of Job (Wandering by Heart) (1929).