Fedor Polikarpov-Orlov (; 1660 – 12 January 1731) was a Russian writer, translator, and printer. He is most noted for his Slavonic ''Bukvar'' (Primer) that was widely used by Slavic-speakers (Poles, Ruthenians, Czechs, Slovaks, Serbs, Bulgars) both in Europe and throughout the Russian Empire. The historic significance of the 1701 Primer as a sample of book-printing trade lies in the fact that it was the first time in the history of Moscow book-printing that it was attempted to teach students the elements of not only one language but of three at the same time: Slavic, Greek and Latin. Polikarpov-Orlov graduated from the

Slavic Greek Latin Academy The Slavic Greek Latin Academy () was the first higher education establishment in Moscow. History Beginning The academy's establishment may be viewed as a result of the incorporation of the Left-Bank Ukraine into Muscovy after the Treaty of Perey ...

in his birthplace of Moscow and later taught grammar, rhetoric, and poetic theory at the same academy. Between 1698 and 1722 he was first a proofreader at the ''Pechatnyi Dvor'' (

Moscow Print Yard The Moscow Print Yard () was the first publishing house in Russia. It was established in Kitai-gorod at the behest of Ivan the Terrible in 1553. The historic headquarters of the Print Yard now house the Russian State University for the Humanities ...

) and then he became the printshop director. From 1726 to 1731 he was director of the Synodal Printing House in Moscow. Polikarpov-Orlov's best-known work – Slavonic-Greek-Latin Primer (1701) and the Slavonic-Greek-Latin Lexicon (1704) – are the most important monuments of East Slavonic

lexicography Lexicography is the study of lexicons and the art of compiling dictionaries. It is divided into two separate academic disciplines: * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoretical le ...

and history and sources of trilingual elementary education in Russia and Eastern Europe, especially among the Serbs in the 1700s. His other works include Historical Information on the Moscow Academy (1726), an appendix to The Grammar Book of

Meletius Smotrytsky Meletius Smotrytsky (; ; – 17 or 27 December 1633), Archbishop of Polotsk (Metropolitan of Kyiv), was a writer, a religious and pedagogical activist of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and a Ruthenian linguist whose works influenc ...

(1721), and the first essay on the history of Russian printing. He also helped edit the first Russian newspaper, ''

Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti The ''Vedomosti'' () is Russia's oldest newspaper. It was established by Peter the Great's ukase dated 16 December 1702. The first issue appeared on 2 January 1703. Petrine Vedomosti Following along the lines of the 17th-century handwritten ...

''. Among the best known works translated by Polikarpov-Orlov is the 1650 Geography of

Bernhardus Varenius Bernhardus Varenius (Bernhard Varen) (1622, Hitzacker, Holy Roman Empire1650) was a German geographer. Life His early years (from 1627) were spent at Uelzen, where his father was court preacher to the duke of Brunswick. Varenius studied at th ...

(''Geographia Generalis'').

References

* Brailovskii, S. N. "F. P. Polikarpov-Orlov—direktor Moskovskoi tipografii." Zhurnal Ministerstva narodnogo prosveshcheniia, 1894, nos. 9–11. * Fursenko, V. V. "Polikarpov-Orlov." In Russkii biograficheskii slovar' ol. 14 St. Petersburg, 1905. * Luppov, S. P. Kniga v Rossii v I-i chetv. 18 v. Leningrad, 1973. {{DEFAULTSORT:Polikarpov-Orlov, Fedor 1660s births 1731 deaths Writers from Moscow Writers from the Russian Empire

See also

References