Ivan Mikhailovich Snegiryov (russian: Ива́н Миха́йлович Снегирёв; 1793,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

– 1868,

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 ...

) was one of the first Russian

ethnographer Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

s. He published detailed descriptions of almost every church and monastery in Moscow. The son of a university professor, Snegiryov graduated from

Moscow University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

in 1814 and since 1818 taught

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

language there. He was active as a censor throughout Nicholas I's reign, censoring such works as ''

Eugene Onegin ''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Евгений Оне́гин, ромáн в стихáх, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈnʲeɡʲɪn, r=Yevgeniy Onegin, roman v stikhakh) is a novel in verse written by Ale ...

'' and ''

Dead Souls ''Dead Souls'' (russian: «Мёртвые души», ''Mjórtvyje dúshi'') is a novel by Nikolai Gogol, first published in 1842, and widely regarded as an exemplar of 19th-century Russian literature. The novel chronicles the travels and adv ...

''. He shared the ideals of

Official Nationality Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality (russian: Правосла́вие, самодержа́вие, наро́дность, Pravoslávie, samoderzhávie, naródnost'), also known as Official Nationality,Riasanovsky, p. 132 was the dominant imper ...

and belonged to a circle of antiquaries dominated by

Nikolai Rumyantsev Count Nikolai Petrovich Rumyantsev (; 3 April 1754 – 3 January 1826), born in Saint Petersburg, was Russia's Foreign Minister and Chancellor of the Russian Empire in the run-up to Napoleon's invasion of Russia (1808–12). He was the son of ...

. He was one of the first to collect Russian

proverb A proverb (from la, proverbium) is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phra ...

s and describe folk rituals and observances. His ground-breaking work on Russian

lubok A ''lubok'' (plural ''lubki'', Cyrillic: russian: лубо́к, лубо́чная картинка) is a Russian popular print, characterized by simple graphics and narratives derived from literature, religious stories, and popular tales. Lubki ...

was printed in 1844. Snegiryov's lengthy description of Moscow (1865–73) was feted by Fyodor Buslayev as the best guidebook to the city.Moscow Encyclopaedia
/ref> He supervised restoration of the

Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...

buildings and the Romanov Boyar House. His journals were published in 2 volumes in 1904–05.

Publications

Ivan Snegiryov authored several books on Russian

s, idioms, way of life, rituals and holidays: *
Russkie v svoikh poslovitsakh
razsuzhdenia i izsliedovania ob otechestvennykh poslovitsakh i pogovorkakh'' (lit. ''Russians in their idioms. Discourses and investigations about the national proverbs and idioms''; 1831–1834). * ''The common holidays of Russians and superstitious rites'' (1837–1839). * ''Russian folk proverbs and

parable A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, that illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, w ...

s'' (1848). * ''On the

pictures of Russians'' (1844, second expanded edition published in 1861).

Literature

Viellard, Stephane. 2014. Entre continuum et singularité: L'experience d'Ivan Mixajlovič Snegirev (1793–1898), premier paremiologue rusee moderne. ''Parémiologie. Proverbes et formes voicines'', ed by Jean-Michel Benayoun, Natalie Kieber, And Jean Philippe Zouogbo, III, 281–298. Sainte Jemme: Presses Universitaires de Sainte Gemme.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snegiryov, Ivan 1793 births 1868 deaths Writers from Moscow People from Moskovsky Uyezd Russian folklorists Russian ethnographers Censors 19th-century historians from the Russian Empire 19th century in Moscow Moscow State University alumni Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Burials at Lazarevskoe Cemetery (Saint Petersburg)