Daniil Lukich Mordovtsev
Daniil Lukich Mordovtsev (1830-1905) was a notable Russian writer known for his contributions to historical novels and social criticism. Born in the village of Danilovka in present-day Volgograd Oblast, he grew up in a Ukrainian-speaking family and initially received education in Church Slavonic before advancing to district schooling. His linguistic talents led him to study at Kazan University, where he shifted from a focus on physics to philology, mastering multiple languages including Ukrainian, Russian, French, and Hebrew.
After graduating with distinction, Mordovtsev worked for the Ministry of the Interior and later the Ministry of Communications, where he gained the rank of civilian major general. His literary career began under the influence of exiled historian Nikolai Kostomarov, leading to works that reflected on historical movements and social issues of the time. Notably, his novels, particularly those focused on Russian and Ukrainian history, became widely popular despite attracting attention from censors.
Mordovtsev's life was marked by personal tragedies in the 1880s, prompting him to travel extensively, which inspired further literary creations. He passed away in 1905, leaving behind a legacy that experienced a resurgence in interest during the late 20th century, underscoring his impact on the literary world.
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Daniil Lukich Mordovtsev
Writer
- Born: December 7, 1830
- Birthplace: Danilovka, Russia
- Died: June 10, 1905
- Place of death: Kislovodsk, Russia
Biography
Daniil Luhick Mordovtsev was born on December 7, 1830, in Danilovka, a village in the present-day Volgograd Oblast, to a Ukrainian-speaking father who was a descendant of the Zaporozhian Cossacks and mother who was the daughter of the local priest. His earliest education was provided at home, where he read Church Slavonic books, but when he was nine, he and his two elder brothers attended the district school in Ust’-Medveditskaia on the Don River. Since Ukrainian was his first language, he had to learn Russian to keep up in school.
In 1844, he followed his brothers to Saratov and continued school at the local gymnasium. When he enrolled in Kazan University, he planned to major in physics and mathematics, but by then his linguistic aptitude was so impressive that his examiners urged him to pursue studies in the department of philology. In addition to Ukrainian and Russian, he would eventually master French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Kalmyk, Latin, Slavonic, and Tatar. After a year of study in Kazan, Mordovtsev transferred to St. Petersburg University, where he graduated with a gold medal in 1854.
Following graduation, he married Anna Nikanorovna Paskhalova, a writer from Saratov. Seven years his senior, she had four children from a previous marriage. The couple returned to Saratov, where Mordovtsev served the Ministry of the Interior for about seventeen years and attained a rank equivalent to colonel. Here he met the exiled historian Nikolai Ivanovich Kostomaroy, under whose influence he began his literary career.
Mordovtsev published a poem and several short stories written in his native Ukrainian, as well as numerous historical articles and social criticism. Throughout the 1860’s, Mordovtsev wrote about various seventeenth and eighteenth century movements and uprisings, which were read by many young radicals longing for revolts. However, this kind of literature attracted the attention of censors, so he had to resign his position. Also in the 1860’s, he produced his first novels, which dealt with the young intellectual compared with the common people.
In 1873, Mordovtsev returned to St. Petersburg, where he worked for the Ministry of Communications for about thirteen years, retiring with the rank of civilian major general. He continued his historical studies, and, hoping to reach broader audiences, he published historical novels that made him the most widely read historical novelist of the day. While he never distorted historical facts, he used his creative imagination freely to craft his plots.
In the mid-1880’s, Mordovtsev’s wife and a stepson died. He began extensive travel that resulted in some Egyptian novels, two Roman novels, and two novels set in ancient Israel; the novels that dealt with Russian and Ukrainian history, however, established his most lasting reputation. Not long before his death, the fiftieth anniversary of his literary career was observed. Mordovtsev died on June 10, 1905, in Kislovodsk, with burial in Rostov-on-Don. Although between 1920 and 1980 his name almost disappeared from the literary scene, his work enjoyed a renaissance during the perestroika and the post-Soviet era.