Petr Dmitrievich Boborykin
Petr Dmitrievich Boborykin was a notable Russian novelist, dramatist, and critic, born on August 15, 1836, into an upper-class family in Nizhnii Novgorod. Raised by his paternal grandfather after his parents' separation, he received a solid education, attending the University of Derpt and the University of St. Petersburg, where he graduated in administrative studies. Following his grandfather's death, Boborykin inherited a substantial fortune, allowing him to pursue a literary career. He was an active member of the St. Petersburg Actors Club and married actress Sofiia Zborzhevskaia in 1872.
Throughout his career, Boborykin was known for his prolific writing output, which earned him both acclaim and criticism, even becoming a subject of satire by contemporaries like Fyodor Dostoevski. His literary work often explored the experiences of the Russian intelligentsia during a transformative period in Russian history, between the emancipation of serfs in 1861 and the Russian Revolution of 1917. He engaged with Western European ideas and sought to act as a cultural bridge for his contemporaries. In 1914, he left Russia for health reasons and passed away in Lugano, Switzerland, on August 12, 1921. Boborykin’s legacy remains a point of discussion regarding the quality and impact of his contributions to Russian literature.
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Petr Dmitrievich Boborykin
Fiction Writer
- Born: August 15, 1836
- Birthplace: Nizhny-Novgorod, Russia
- Died: August 12, 1921
- Place of death: Lugano, Switzerland
Biography
Petr Dmitrievich Boborykin was born on August 15, 1836, into a family of upper-class landowners in Nizhnii Novgorod, Russia. His parents had separated prior to his birth, and he was raised in the home of his paternal grandfather. He attended local schools as a boy and then enrolled in the University of Derpt in Estonia from 1855 to 1860. He later attended the University of St. Petersburg, where he earned a diploma in administrative studies in 1861. Shortly after his move to St. Petersburg, his grandfather died and left him a substantial inheritance, including an annual income derived from the family’s landholdings. This economic independence gave him the ability to pursue a literary career. He was a member of the St. Petersburg Actors Club. Boborykin married the actress Sofiia Aleksandrovna (Kalmykova) Zborzhevskaia in November, 1872.
Boborykin was an astonishingly prolific novelist, dramatist, and critic who wrote so industriously (and some alleged with such mediocrity) during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that he became an object of satire for some of his contemporaries, notably author Fyodor Dostoevski. Two Russian verbs were even derived from his name, one of which means “to write immoderately and tediously.” His work, however, had considerable impact on the Russian reading and theatergoing public, and some contemporary critics argued in favor of the quality of Boborykin’s writing during his lifetime.
Boborykin’s works examined the life of the Russian intelligentsia in the decades between the emancipation of the Russian serfs in 1861 and the Russian Revolution of 1917. In many ways, he was more comfortable with the Western European worldview of the times and aspired to the role of cultural intermediary, attempting to keep his contemporaries abreast of the latest European ideas in his many publications. He traveled widely in Europe during his lifetime and left Russia e permanently for health reasons in 1914. He died on August 12, 1921, in Lugano, Switzerland, of complications following a stroke.