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Löb Nevakhovich, or Lev Nikolayevich (Leib ben Noach) Nevakhovich (russian: Лев Николаевич (Лейб Бен Ноах) Невахович, born between 1776 and 1778,
Letychiv Letychiv ( uk, Летичів; pl, Latyczów; russian: Летичев) is a town in the eastern part of Khmelnytskyi Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. 51 km from Khmelnytskyi and 33 km from the railway station in Derazhnia. It was ...
,
Podolia Podolia or Podilia ( uk, Поділля, Podillia, ; russian: Подолье, Podolye; ro, Podolia; pl, Podole; german: Podolien; be, Падолле, Padollie; lt, Podolė), is a historic region in Eastern Europe, located in the west-central ...
– ,
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 a Russian writer and one of the first
maskilim The ''Haskalah'', often termed Jewish Enlightenment ( he, השכלה; literally, "wisdom", "erudition" or "education"), was an intellectual movement among the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe, with a certain influence on those in Western Euro ...
in Russia. Nevakhovich was friend and protégé of
Abram Peretz Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the ...
. He went to St. Petersburg toward the end of
Catherine II , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...
's reign, and engaged in commercial pursuits, then turned to literature. He was among the first Russian Jews to gain a mastery of the Russian language, starting with translations from
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
,
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
and
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used b ...
. Nevakhovich was a linguist, a student of philosophy, and an ardent admirer of
Moses Mendelssohn Moses Mendelssohn (6 September 1729 – 4 January 1786) was a German-Jewish philosopher and theologian. His writings and ideas on Jews and the Jewish religion and identity were a central element in the development of the ''Haskalah'', or ' ...
. Nevakhovich held patriotic views regarding both his Jewish heritage and the Russian Empire, expressing his gratitude for opportunities of growth. He also was optimistic in regard to the future of the Jews and assumed that they would be granted greater liberty. In 1806 Nevakhovich was baptized into the
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
Church (
Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most C ...
according to other sources). In 1817 he moved to
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...
where he started working for the Ministry of Finance. In 1831 he returned to St. Petersburg in order to produce one of his plays on the stage, but he died before he could accomplish his purpose. Nevakhovich is interred 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 i ...
in St. Petersburg.


Works

Nevakhovich, with his friends Abram Peretz and
Noah Notkin Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible ( Book of Genesis, chapters ...
, made a determined effort to secure recognition for the Jews of Russia. Under the title ''Vopl' Dshcheri Iudeiskoi'' (Russian for ''Lament of the Daughter of Israel'') he wrote an urgent appeal to the people of Russia, calling upon them to show a spirit of tolerance and justice toward Jews. In this appeal he shows how the Jewish people have been maligned, and insists that the Jewish religion tends to produce good men and good citizens: "For centuries, the Jews have been accused by the peoples of the earth. They have been accused of witchcraft, of irreligion, of superstition ... All their actions were interpreted to their disadvantage, and whenever they were discovered to be innocent their accusers raised against them new accusations ... I swear that the Jew who preserves his religion undefiled can be neither a bad man nor a bad citizen." In 1804, Nevakhovich published ''Perepiska Dvukh Prosvyeschonnykh Druzei'' (Russian for ''Correspondence of Two Enlightened Friends''); other writings followed in 1805 and 1806. He became close to Prince
Alexander Shakhovskoy Prince Alexander Alexandrovich Shakhovskoy (russian: link=no, Александр Александрович Шаховской; 5 May 1777, in Smolensk Governorate, Russian Empire – 3 February 1846, in Moscow, Russian Empire) was a Russian pla ...
, a dramatist. Nevakhovich's play ''Sulioty ili Spartantzy XVIII Vyeka'' (Russian for ''Sulliots, or Spartans of the 18th century'') was successfully produced at the Imperial Theater in St. Petersburg in 1809, and was performed before the emperor in October of the same year. His ''Mech Pravosudiya'' (Russian for ''The Sword of Justice'') was put on the stage after his death in 1831.


Descendants

*Son
Michael Nevakhovich Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...
(1817–1850) after pursuing a military career left it with the rank of Rittmeister and started publishing drawings and comical illustrations later becoming an editor of the first Russian comic paper ''Yeralash''. *Son
Alexander Nevakhovich Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
(1819–1880) became manager of theatrical department and was associated with theatrical director Gedeonov; Alexander's son Nicholas became an officer in the Russian Navy. *Daughter Emilia was the mother of
Nobel Nobel often refers to: *Nobel Prize, awarded annually since 1901, from the bequest of Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel Nobel may also refer to: Companies *AkzoNobel, the result of the merger between Akzo and Nobel Industries in 1994 *Branobel, or ...
laureate scientist
Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov Ilya, Iliya, Ilia, Ilja, or Ilija (russian: Илья́, Il'ja, , or russian: Илия́, Ilija, ; uk, Ілля́, Illia, ; be, Ілья́, Iĺja ) is the East Slavic form of the male Hebrew name Eliyahu (Eliahu), meaning "My God is Yahu/ Jah. ...
.


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nevakhovich, Loeb 19th-century writers from the Russian Empire Jewish writers Russian dramatists and playwrights Russian male dramatists and playwrights Jewish dramatists and playwrights People from Letychiv 1770s births 1831 deaths Russian Jews Converts to Lutheranism from Judaism