His poetic talent has become obvious since his childhood. He started writing poetry during the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people against German Fascism and his lyrics were very much influenced by these historical events.
Now he publishes his verse under his mother’s family name. She belonged to the family of princes Argutinskiy-Dolgorukiy. This family traces its origins to Ancient Egypt Pharaoh Psammetih (663–610 B.C.) and ruler of Persia Artaxerx Mahashastra (465–424 B.C. – translated into Russian as “dolgorukiy”, i.e. man with long hands), and is related to Russian ruling dynasties of Rurikovichi and Romanovs.
His interest in philosophy also became apparent quite early: during his student years when he was appointed monitor of the student philosophical society in the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO).
In his relations with the outer social milieu the philosopher and researcher is known under his father’s family name – Yan William Siewertsz van Reesema.
According to the family archives his father’s family is related to medieval German knight Conrad Siewertsen who took part in the Crusade of 1088. Later Conrad’s descendants lived in the town of Reesum in Holland and by the middle of the XYII century they settled in Amsterdam as the Siewertsz van Reesema.
This is a short biography version of a European-Asian thinker, philosopher, poet, researcher – Yan William Siewertsz van Reesema / Alexander Iwanowich Argutinskiy-Dolgorukiy. In his first collection of poetry “Demiurge”, published in Moscow in 1993, Alexander Iwanowich Argutinskiy-Dolgorukiy explaining the functions of names wrote: “Names represent functions of the world. The language of science is universal, the language of poetry as well as the language of history is national. That is why I think it necessary to correlate my father’s name with my scientific work and research activity while I connect my mother’s name with poetry, with my personal history, which is closely tied with the Russian language. In social life and in creative work names of mother and father should be kept in harmonious accord.
I have chosen my literary name Alexander to commemorate my maternal grandfather prince Alexander Mihailowich Argutinskiy-Dolgorukiy. My patronymic – Iwanowich – honors my other grandfather (same maternal side) – Moscow merchant Ivan Rogozhin.