Vasilii Vasil'evich Kapnist
Vasilii Vasil'evich Kapnist was a Ukrainian poet and social critic born on February 23, 1758, in Obukhovka, Poltava province. Of Greek descent, he received a home education that prepared him for a military career, which began in St. Petersburg in 1770. Kapnist quickly rose through the ranks, joining the Life Guards and later becoming involved in the literary circle of the prominent poet Gavriil Derzhavin. His literary work began with the publication of an ode written in French, reflecting the era's cultural dynamics where Western languages were commonly used by Russian authors.
Kapnist gained notoriety for his satirical poems that critiqued the Russian nobility and their treatment of serfs, leading to personal conflicts, including estrangement from his fiancée's family. His outspoken views on social injustices prompted him to resign from his position as a postal inspector in protest against serfdom under Empress Catherine the Great. After moving back to Ukraine, he became an influential figure, even facing exile threats due to his play "Iabeda," which highlighted societal issues. Despite his talents, much of his work remained unpublished due to fears of repercussions against his family. Kapnist passed away from tuberculosis on November 9, 1823, and was buried in his hometown, leaving a legacy that reflects the complexities of Russian society during his time.
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Vasilii Vasil'evich Kapnist
Playwright
- Born: February 23, 1756
- Birthplace: Obuhovka, Ukraine
- Died: November 9, 1823
Biography
Vasilii Vasil’evich Kapnist was born in the village of Obukhovka, in the Poltava province of Ukraine, on February 23, 1758. His father was of Greek descent and of sufficient social status that Kapnist was educated at home. In 1770, Kapnist was sent to St. Petersburg to begin his military career, and within a year he was promoted to sergeant. Within two years he arranged his transfer to the prestigious Life Guards, where he met poet Gavriil Derzhavin. This association led to the composition of his earliest short poems.
His first published poem, Ode à l’occasion de la paix conclue entre la Russie et la Porte Ottomane à Kaynardgi le 10 julliet (1775), an ode to the end of war with Turkey, was written in French rather than in Russian. The use of Western languages by Russian authors was still common at the time, since Russian had not truly come into its own as a literary language. In 1775, Kapnist resigned from the army to become a full-time member of Derzhavin’s literary circle. There he wrote a number of satirical poems that sharply criticized the failures of the nobility, particularly the landowners’ powers over the serfs. These satires were so abrasive that it caused his fiancée’s mother to turn against him, accusing him of keeping bad company and being a corrupting influence on her daughter. Such was the harshness of these criticisms that he published no further satires, but he continued to be a sharp critic of the serious problems in Russian society.
After a brief stint as a Russian postal inspector, Kapnist resigned as a protest against Empress Catherine the Great’s treatment of serfs and moved back to Ukraine, where he was elected to represent the nobility in Kiev. The staging and publication of his play Iabeda in 1798 resulted in his being threatened with exile to Siberia, but the exile order was subsequently rescinded by Tsar Paul. Kapnist subsequently became a member of the Directorate of Imperial Theaters, a magistrate in the province of Poltava, and, in 1817, a marshal of the nobility. He died of tuberculosis on November 9, 1823, and was buried in his native Obukhovka. Because of his political leanings, his family subsequently withheld a number of his letters and poems from publication for fear that his incisive treatment of the serious problems of Russian society might lead to reprisals against them.