Apollon Aleksandrovich Maykov (Russian:Аполлон Александрович Майков, 1761 — 20 December 1838,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

) was a Russian poet, military officer,

Active State Councillor Active State Councillor (, deystvitelnyi statskiy sovetnik) was a civil position (class) in the Russian Empire, according to the Table of Ranks introduced by Peter the Great in 1722. That was a civil rank of the 4th class and equal to those of M ...

, and a Director at the

Imperial Theatres Imperial Theatres of Russian Empire () was a theatrical organization financed by the Imperial exchequer and managed by a single directorate headed with a director; was pertain to the Ministry of the Imperial Court from 1742. The system operated i ...

. He was from a family of notable figures, including his uncle, the poet and playwright,

Vasily Maykov Vasily Ivanovich Maykov (; 1728 – 28 June 1778) was a Russian poet, fabulist, playwright and translator. He was an exponent of the mock-heroic poetry genre in Russia. As a playwright, Maykov followed the tradition set by Alexander Sumarokov ...

; his younger brother, the poet ; and his son, the painter Nikolay Maykov.

Biography

His father, Aleksander, was a descendent of

Nil Sorsky Nilus of Sora (also Nil Sorsky or Nil Sorski; ; secular name: Nikolai Maikov; ; – 7 May 1508) was a Russian Orthodox monk, spiritual writer, theologian, and the founder of the Sora Hermitage. He is best known as the founder of a tendency in t ...

. His mother, Kleopatra née Telepevna, was also from a noble family. As a young man, he served in the military guards. He wrote and published his first poems in 1786. Around 1790, he married Natalia Ivanovna Serebryakova (1768–1832). They had seven sons and five daughters; two of whom died before reaching adulthood. In 1795, he was awarded the Prussian ''

Pour le Mérite The (; , ), also informally known as the ''Blue Max'' () after German WWI flying ace Max Immelmann, is an order of merit established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. Separated into two classes, each with their own designs, the was ...

''. In 1802, he began working at the Imperial Theatre in Saint Petersburg; as a member of the "Directorate of Spectacles and Music' and head of the acting troupes. By 1806, he was in charge of the Directorate's financial affairs.Biography and notes
from the ''Словарь русских писателей XVIII века'' @ Электронные публикации According to memoirs by his associates, he was more capable at handling their finances than their repertoire. He was appointed a manager of the Moscow theatres in 1810. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, he succeeded in removing the theatrical props, saving the cash drawer, and evacuating the actors, just before the French entered Moscow. As soon as they were able to return, the performances resumed. Shortly after, he was appointed a Chamberlain. From 1821 to 1825, he served as Director of the Imperial Theatres in Saint Petersburg. As of 1823, he was a member of the Committee for Theatrical Affairs. He resigned his positions in 1825, in protest of a decision that made the Director completely subordinate to the Committee. He later returned to Moscow, was awarded the

Order of Saint Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, on 14 February 1735, in hono ...

in 1826, and served as a 'permanent member" of the

Kremlin Armoury The Kremlin ArmouryOfficially called the "Armoury Chamber" but also known as the cannon yard, the "Armoury Palace", the "Moscow Armoury", the "Armoury Museum", and the "Moscow Armoury Museum" but different from the Kremlin Arsenal. () is one of ...

from 1828 to 1831. His works include numerous

ode An ode (from ) is a type of lyric poetry, with its origins in Ancient Greece. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structu ...

s and a one-act comedy, ''Unsuccessful Pact, or Betrothed, But Not Married'', that was staged at the

Hermitage Theatre The Hermitage Theatre ( rus, Эрмитажный Театр, Èrmitážnyj Teátr, ɪrmʲɪˈtaʐnɨj tʲɪˈat(ə)r) in Saint Petersburg, Russia is one of five Hermitage Museum, Hermitage buildings lining the Palace Embankment of the Neva Ri ...

in 1794. In addition to his children by Natalia, he had two daughters and a son by Ekaterina Lukyanovna Azarevich; a dancer and former

serf Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed du ...

. Their younger daughter, , became a well-known actress.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maykov, Apollon Aleksandrovich 1761 births 1838 deaths Male poets from the Russian Empire Theatre directors from the Russian Empire Theatre managers and producers from the Russian Empire Place of birth unknown Nobility from the Russian Empire