Grigorii Petrovich Danilevsky
Grigorii Petrovich Danilevsky was a notable Ukrainian-Russian writer and civil servant born on April 26, 1829, in Kharkov province, Ukraine. He hailed from an upper middle-class family with roots in Ukrainian gentry, and his heritage was a source of pride for him. After losing his father at a young age, Danilevsky was educated by his mother, who instilled in him a passion for the arts and literature. He began his studies at Moscow University Gentry Pension and later attended St. Petersburg University, where he initially pursued a law degree while contributing to literary journals under pseudonyms.
Danilevsky's life took a significant turn when he was arrested in 1849 for his involvement in the Petrashevsky Circle, a group discussing political and social issues; although cleared of charges, this experience influenced his later writing style to adopt a more conservative tone. He worked in various civil service roles, including a position with the Ministry of Education, and was elected to the Committee of Peasant Affairs. Danilevsky is best known for his historical novels, such as "Mirovich," "Kniazhna Tarakanova," and "Sozhzhennaia Moskva," which reflect his deep engagement with Russian history and culture. Additionally, he translated Ukrainian folktales and authored biographies of prominent Ukrainians. Danilevsky passed away in 1890 due to kidney disease, leaving behind a legacy that highlights the intersection of literature and historical inquiry.
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Grigorii Petrovich Danilevsky
Writer
- Born: April 26, 1829
- Birthplace: Danilovka, Kharkov, Ukraine, Russia
- Died: December 6, 1890
- Place of death:
Biography
Grigorii Petrovich Danilevsky was born on April 26, 1829, in the village of Danilovka in the Kharkov province of the Ukraine, then a part of Russia. Danilevsky’s parents, Petr Ivanovich and Ekaterina Grigor’evna Kupchinova, were upper middle class and descended from Ukrainian gentry. Danilevsky was extremely proud of his heritage. His great-grandmother was Catherine the Great’s maid of honor, and Peter the Great had visited his great-grandfather at his home. Danilevsky’s father died when he was ten years old and his mother married Mikhail Mikhailovich, who treated the young Danilevesky well. His mother was well educated in music, French, and Russian literature, and she shared her love for the arts with her two sons.
In 1841, Danilevsky began studying at the Moscow University Gentry Pension, where he also began writing. He left that institution in 1846 and went on to study at St. Petersburg University, where he abandoned his love of writing and the arts to focus on a law degree. During his time in St. Petersburg, Danilevsky developed lasting relationships with key journals in the city. He published poems and essays in these journals under pseudonyms and was a regular contributor to St. Petersburg newspapers.
In 1849, Danilevsky’s life would change when he was arrested for his involvement in the revolutionary Petrashevsky Circle, a group of people who discussed social and philosophical issues and problems within the country. Danilevsky was cleared of all charges, but he began writing with a more conservative tone and denied that he had any revolutionary involvement.
He graduated from St. Petersburg University in 1850 and was immediately hired as a clerk at the Ministry of Education, where he served in various positions until 1857. While at the ministry, he was sent to Kursk to examine and archive the province’s historic records and writings. This began a love of archiving, taking Danilevsky to various provinces and Russian and Ukrainian settlements.
In 1857, he left St. Petersburg for the Ukraine, where he was elected to the Committee of Peasant Affairs. His work with Ukrainian peasants would resurface throughout his literary career. He married Iuliia Zamiatina in 1857. Danilevsky later held various civil service jobs and was a newspaper editor.
In addition to his many translations of literary works, Danilevsky is best known for three historical novels: Mirovich (1880), Kniazhna Tarakanova (1885; The Princess Tarakanova: A Dark Chapter of Russian History, 1891), and Sozhzhennaia Moskva (1887; Moscow in Flames, 1917). Mirovich follows Vasilii Mirovich from his attempt to free the wrongly imprisoned Czar Ivan VI to his execution after being tried for treason, analyzing the motives for his actions. Kniazhna Tarakanova is a psychological examination of Tarakanova, who claimed to be the daughter of the unmarried Empress Elizabeth. Thoroughly researched, Danilevsky strays from historic fact only to speculate about her psychological state. Danilevsky’s most popular historical novel, Sozhzhennaia Moskva, is about Russian life during the Napoleonic era.
Danilevsky also gained recognition for translating Ukrainian folktales into Russian and for writing biographies of famous Ukrainians which were complied in the book, Ukraiskaia straina: Materialy dlia istorii ukrainskoi literatury i narodnogo obrazov aniia. He died from kidney disease in 1890.