1902 was a milestone for Gorky and Sverdlov. The presentation on the stage of the Moscow Art Theatre of “The Lower Depths” marked the first triumph of the writer. At the same moment, his election to the Academy of Literature – which had been annulled by Nicholas II – a major public event, joined another more private one, the adoption at Arzamas, under Russian Orthodox rites, of the young Zinovy. In order to bypass the law limiting movement and settlement of Jews in the empire, but also to mark his link with the writer, Zinovy was baptized on September 30, 1902, in the city church. He officially changed his name, adopting the real last name of Gorky, Peshkov, since the latter was his official godfather.