Gurdjieff in Constantinople

Abstract George Gurdjieff (1866–1949) and his students’ stay in Constantinople in 1920–1921 remains a blank spot in the movement’s history. Very few records relating to this period survive. In Constantinople, Gurdjieff succeeded in founding the first branch of the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man, after his attempts in Tbilisi in 1919 had failed. In this article, two important documents related to this period are published in English translation. The first is a booklet that contains information about the branch of the Institute in Constantinople, its program, theories, and working methods. It was published in Constantinople in 1920, in Russian. The second is a translation of fragments from the memoirs of Vasily Shulgin (1878–1976), a prominent Russian politician, writer, and journalist who witnessed and interacted with the Gurdjieff group in Constantinople. These materials significantly expand our knowledge of this early stage of the Gurdjieff movement and its cultural-historical context.