Alexander Fyodorovich Voeykov (Алекса′ндр Фё′дорович Вое′йков, September 10 (August 30, o.s)

1779 Events January–March * January 11 ** British troops surrender to the Marathas in Wadgaon, India, and are forced to return all territories acquired since 1773. * January 22 – American Revolutionary War – Claudius Smi ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

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- July 28 (16)

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, Russian Empire) was a

Russian poet This is a list of authors who have written poetry in the Russian language. Alphabetical list A B C D E F G I K L M N O P R S T U V Y Z See also * List of Russian architects * Lis ...

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

literary historian The history of literature is the historical development of writings in prose or poetry that attempt to provide entertainment or education to the reader, as well as the development of the literary techniques used in the communication of these pie ...

and

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, best known for his satirical poems of 1814-1820.

Biography

Alexander Voeykov was born in Moscow into a noble family and studied at the

Moscow University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...

's boarding school for nobility where his name later has been engraved onto the golden plaque of the best students in the history of the school. In 1796 he joined the Russian army and served in cavalry guards. After retirement in 1801 he returned to Moscow and made his house a literary center, home to the circle known as Friendly Literature Society which had among its members

Vasily Zhukovsky Vasily Andreyevich Zhukovsky (; – ) was the foremost Russian poet of the 1810s and a leading figure in Russian literature in the first half of the 19th century. He held a high position at the Romanov court as tutor to the Grand Duchess Alexan ...

, brothers Andrey and

Alexander Turgenev Alexander Ivanovich Turgenev (; (27 March April1784, Simbirsk - 3 5December 1845, Moscow) was a Russian statesman and historian. Biography Alexander Turgenev was born in Simbirsk in 1784. His father, Ivan Petrovich Turgenev (1752-1807) was ...

Aleksey Merzlyakov Aleksey Fyodorovich Merzlyakov (; 22 March 1778 – 7 August 1830) was a Russian poet, critic, translator, and professor. Biography Aleksey was born in Dalmatovo, Perm Governorate. He went to Moscow in 1793 to study at Moscow State University, w ...

, brothers Andrey and Mikhail Kaisarov, Semyon Rodzyanko. Voeykov's political views were radical for his times: he was denouncing '

tyranny A tyrant (), in the modern English language, English usage of the word, is an autocracy, absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurper, usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defen ...

', criticized Zhukovsky's neutrality in political issues and was the proponent of the 'social poetry'. Two of his best known early works were satires, "To Speransky: On Real Welfare" and "To My

Starosta Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands. The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadersh ...

", published in 1806 and 1807 respectively. In 1909 his translations of

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

's ''The Age of Louis XIV'' and ''The Age of Louis XV'' were published. In 1812-1813, Voeykov served in the Russian army. He became an active member of the literary circle which formed around Andrey Kaisarov's printing office at the

Mikhail Kutuzov Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov-Smolensky (; – ) was a Field Marshal of the Russian Empire. He served as a military officer and a diplomat under the reign of three Romanov monarchs: Empress Catherine II, and Emperors Paul ...

's headquarters. Inspired by Russian victory over

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, he published several patriotic verses in 1813. In 1814, Voeykov married Alexandra Andreyevna Protasova, a niece of Zhukovsky who served as a prototype for his famous ''Svetlana'' ballad's heroine. The satirical pamphlet ''The Asylum'' (Дом сумесшедших, 1814), ridiculing prominent authors and politicians, gave him notoriety; it was first published only in 1857, almost twenty years after its author's death. In 1815, Voeykov moved with his family to

Dorpat Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

to become the professor of Russian language at this city's

University A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

. In the years to follow he drifted towards the

Karamzin The Karamzin family is a noted Russian noble family of Tatar origin. It originates from the Tatar name Kara-Murza, meaning ''black lord''. Karamzin () is also a Russian masculine surname, its feminine counterpart is Karamzina. Notable members ...

circle and took part in the Arzamas Society. In 1817 his translation of

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

's ''

Georgics The ''Georgics'' ( ; ) is a poem by Latin poet Virgil, likely published in 29 BCE. As the name suggests (from the Greek language, Greek word , ''geōrgiká'', i.e. "agricultural hings) the subject of the poem is agriculture; but far from bei ...

'' was published. The same year Voeykov and Alexander Turgenev published the first in the series of ''Selected Works from Russian Literature'' which was re-issued in 1822-1824. After quitting the Dorpat University, Voeykov in 1820 moved to Saint Petersburg to become an inspector in an artillery college. The same year he was elected the Member of the

Russian Academy of Science The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...

and started a journalistic career. In 1820, recommended by Zhukovsky, he became a co-publisher of '' Syn Otechestva'' magazine but a raw with Nikolay Gretsch put an end to this. In 1822-1828 he edited ''

Russky Invalid ''Russkiy Invalid'' (Русский инвалид), where invalid has the meaning of a military veteran, was a newspaper of the Russian military which was published in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire, in 1813–1917. It was originally founded by ...

'' newspaper, then in 1827-1830, ''Slavyanin'' magazine, maintaining strong professional links with

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

Kondraty Ryleyev Kondraty Fyodorovich Ryleyev (, , – ) was a Russians, Russian poet, publisher, and a leader of the Decembrist Revolt, which attempted to overthrow the Russian monarchy in 1825. Early life Ryleyev was born in the village of Gatchinsky Distric ...

Anton Delvig Baron Anton Antonovich Delvig ( – ) was a Russian poet and journalist of Baltic German descent. Early life Anton Delvig was born on . He was of Baltic German descent. He studied at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum together with Alexander Pushkin ...

and

Pyotr Vyazemsky Prince Pyotr Andreyevich Vyazemsky (, ; 23 July 1792 – 22 November 1878) was a Russian poet and a leading personality of the Golden Age of Russian poetry. Biography His parents were a Russian prince of Rurikid stock, Prince Andrey Vyazemsk ...

, among others. Still, Voeykov was not a popular figure: his satires were harsh, some colleagues considered him to be mercantile and quarrelsome. In 1828, Voeykov's wife died. He lost the support of many prominent people and in his later years experienced serious financial troubles. He was making attempts to compile and publish his works but never succeeded. Alexander Voeykov died in 1839 in Saint Petersburg.

References