Vasilii Petrovich Petrov
Vasilii Petrovich Petrov was a notable Russian poet and translator born in 1736 in Moscow. Coming from a clerical family and enduring early poverty, Petrov's intellectual pursuits led him to the Moscow Academy, where he later served as an instructor. His career took a significant turn in 1766 when he published an ode celebrating Czarina Catherine the Great, earning him the position of her personal reader and translator in St. Petersburg. Despite gaining favor in court and forming close ties with Catherine and her courtiers, Petrov faced criticism from the literary community, which viewed his work as overly sycophantic. This scornful reception highlighted his impact on literature, as he was deemed a legitimate threat by his contemporaries. Petrov is recognized for reviving and transforming the poetic traditions of earlier Russian poets, such as Mikhail Lomonosov and Vasilii Trediakovsky. In addition to his odes, he translated significant works from classical and Western literature, including Virgil’s Aeneid and parts of Milton’s Paradise Lost. Petrov's complex legacy continues to attract scholarly interest, reflecting both his contributions and the controversies surrounding his career. He passed away in 1799.
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Vasilii Petrovich Petrov
- Born: 1736
- Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
- Died: December 4, 1799
Biography
Vasilii Petrovich Petrov was born in Moscow, Russia, in 1736 to a clerical family and struggled through poverty and hardship in his early life. However, his quick mind and determination enabled him to obtain a classical education at the Moscow Academy. After completing his education he remained at the academy as an instructor. In 1766 he published an ode in celebration of Czarina Catherine the Great’s lavish carousel, or horse show, which won the czarina’s favor. As a result, Petrov was called to St. Petersburg and made Catherine’s personal reader and translator, a very favorable position in court. He enjoyed close relations not only with Catherine but also with her courtiers, and he wrote many odes praising them.
Petrov was often the butt of much ridicule by the Russian literary community, who regarded his work as excessively servile and openly self-serving. However, the sheer venom with which he was lampooned and condemned is a sort of left-handed complement to his literary ability. Had Petrov been a forgettable hack, the literary establishment would not have considered itself so deeply threatened by him, but would have been content to leave him in obscurity.
Petrov did not simply produce workmanlike verse in the accepted literary forms of his time. Instead, he revived older traditions of poets Mikhail Lomonosov and Vasilii Trediakovsky, transforming their techniques and making them his own. In later years, even Soviet critics recognized this paradoxical situation. In addition to his odes praising the czarina and her court, Petrov also produced numerous translations of classical and Western literature, including the Aeneid and the first three cantos of Paradise Lost. Petrov died in 1799.