Alexander Vasilyevich Druzhinin (russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Дружи́нин), (October 20, 1824 – January 31, 1864), was a Russian writer, translator, and magazine editor.
Biography
Druzhinin was born into a wealthy family in the district of Golov, part of
Saint Petersburg Governorate
Saint Petersburg Governorate (russian: Санкт-Петербу́ргская губе́рния, ''Sankt-Peterburgskaya guberniya''), or Government of Saint Petersburg, was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia ...
. He was educated at home until the age of sixteen, and then sent to military school. Upon graduation in 1843, he joined the Life-Guards Finland Regiment of the
Russian Imperial Guard
The Russian Imperial Guard, officially known as the Leib Guard (russian: Лейб-гвардия ''Leyb-gvardiya'', from German ''Leib'' "body"; cf. Life Guards / Bodyguard) were military units serving as personal guards of the Emperor of Rus ...
, where he was chosen as regimental librarian. In 1846 he retired from the military and took up a civil service post. He left the civil service after five years in order to devote himself entirely to literary pursuits.
From 1848 to 1855 he was the literary editor of the important journal ''
Sovremennik
''Sovremennik'' ( rus, «Современник», p=səvrʲɪˈmʲenʲːɪk, a=Ru-современник.ogg, "The Contemporary") was a Russian literary, social and political magazine, published in Saint Petersburg in 1836–1866. It came out f ...
'' (''The Contemporary''). During this time he published a large number of short novels, stories, and
feuilleton
A ''feuilleton'' (; a diminutive of french: feuillet, the leaf of a book) was originally a kind of supplement attached to the political portion of French newspapers, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art criti ...
s, translated various works of English literature into Russian and wrote a biography of the painter
Pavel Fedotov
Pavel Andreyevich Fedotov (Russian: Павел Андреевич Федотов; 4 July 1815 - 26 November 1852) was an amateur Russian painter. He was only 37 years old when he died in a mental clinic. He has been compared to William Hogarth.
...
.
In 1847 he published his most popular work, the
epistolary
Epistolary means "in the form of a letter or letters", and may refer to:
* Epistolary ( la, epistolarium), a Christian liturgical book containing set readings for church services from the New Testament Epistles
* Epistolary novel
* Epistolary poem ...
novella ''Polinka Saks''. He followed this up with ''The Story of Aleksei Dmitrich'' in 1848. Both were published in ''Sovremennik'', and received praise from the prominent critic
Vissarion Belinsky
Vissarion Grigoryevich Belinsky ( rus, Виссарион Григорьевич БелинскийIn Belinsky's day, his name was written ., Vissarión Grigórʹjevič Belínskij, vʲɪsərʲɪˈon ɡrʲɪˈɡorʲjɪvʲɪdʑ bʲɪˈlʲinskʲ ...
. After the death of Belinsky in 1848, Druzhinin and
Pavel Annenkov
Pavel Vasilyevich Annenkov (russian: Па́вел Васи́льевич А́нненков) (July 1, 1813 – March 20, 1887) was a significant Russian Empire literary critic and memoirist.
Biography
Annenkov was born into a wealthy landowning fa ...
became Russia's most prominent critics.
After he left ''Sovremennik'', he edited the journal ''
The Library for Reading'', where he espoused a conservative view of literature, denying that it should be subordinated to social and political aims, which was the approach advocated by
Chernyshevsky
Nikolay Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky ( – ) was a Russian literary and social critic, journalist, novelist, democrat, and socialist philosopher, often identified as a utopian socialist and leading theoretician of Russian nihilism. He was t ...
and
Dobrolyubov, the ideological voices of ''Sovremennik''. Druzhinin became one of the chief proponents of the
aesthetic movement
Aestheticism (also the Aesthetic movement) was an art movement in the late 19th century which privileged the aesthetic value of literature, music and the arts over their socio-political functions. According to Aestheticism, art should be prod ...
in Russian literature, along with
Pavel Annenkov
Pavel Vasilyevich Annenkov (russian: Па́вел Васи́льевич А́нненков) (July 1, 1813 – March 20, 1887) was a significant Russian Empire literary critic and memoirist.
Biography
Annenkov was born into a wealthy landowning fa ...
and
Vasily Botkin
Vasily Petrovich Botkin (russian: link=no, Васи́лий Петро́вич Бо́ткин; – ) was a Russian essayist, literary, art and music critic, translator and publicist.
Early life
Vasily was born in Moscow, the son of Alexandra ...
.
Druzhinin was also the major initiator of the ''Literary Fund'', an organization whose purpose was to give financial assistance to needy writers.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...
served as secretary to the fund between 1863 and 1865. Dostoyevsky also participated with Druzhinin in fundraising for the organization.
Druzhinin was on friendly terms with many of his more famous contemporaries, including
Leo Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
,
Alexander Ostrovsky
Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Остро́вский; ) was a Russian playwright, generally considered the greatest representative of the Russian realistic period. The author of 47 origina ...
, and
Ivan Turgenev
Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (; rus, links=no, Ива́н Серге́евич Турге́невIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; 9 November 1818 – 3 September 1883 (Old Style dat ...
, whom he exchanged letters with. He died of
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
in 1864, and was buried in
Volkovo Cemetery
The Volkovo Cemetery (also Volkovskoe) (russian: Во́лковское кла́дбище or Во́лково кла́дбище) is one of the largest and oldest non-Orthodox cemeteries in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Until the early 20th century it ...
in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
.
English literature
Druzhinin worked hard to acquaint Russian readers with English literature. He translated three of Shakespeare's plays: ''
King Lear
''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare.
It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...
'', ''
Coriolanus
''Coriolanus'' ( or ) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Caius Marcius Coriolanus. Shakespeare worked on it during the same ye ...
'' and ''
Richard III
Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...
''. He published a series of essays entitled ''
Boswell and
Johnson
Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...
'', about English life in the eighteenth century, and he wrote a life of
George Crabbe
George Crabbe ( ; 24 December 1754 – 3 February 1832) was an English poet, surgeon and clergyman. He is best known for his early use of the realistic narrative form and his descriptions of middle and working-class life and people.
In the 177 ...
which included numerous extracts from his poetry.
Works
*''Polinka Saks'', and ''The Story of Aleksei Dmitrich'', Translated by Michael R. Katz, Northwestern University Press, 1992.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Druzhinin, Alexander
1824 births
1864 deaths
Writers from Saint Petersburg
People from Sankt-Peterburgsky Uyezd
Russian nobility
Novelists from the Russian Empire
Military personnel of the Russian Empire
Short story writers from the Russian Empire
Journalists from the Russian Empire
Male writers from the Russian Empire
Translators from the Russian Empire
Russian biographers
Male biographers
Russian magazine editors
19th-century journalists
Russian male journalists
19th-century translators from the Russian Empire
20th-century biographers
19th-century novelists from the Russian Empire
Male novelists
19th-century short story writers from the Russian Empire
19th-century male writers from the Russian Empire
20th-century Russian short story writers
20th-century Russian male writers