Grigory Alexandrovich Gukovsky ( rus, Григо́рий Алекса́ндрович Гуко́вский, p=ɡʊˈkofskʲɪj; 1 May 1902, in

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 ...

– 2 April 1950, in

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 ...

) was a Russian Formalist literary historian and scholar whose work at the

Pushkin House The Pushkin House (), formally the Institute of Russian Literature (), is a research institute in St. Petersburg. It is part of a network of institutions affiliated with the Russian Academy of Sciences. History Establishment The Russian Lite ...

led to the rediscovery of 18th-century

Russian literature Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia, its Russian diaspora, émigrés, and to Russian language, Russian-language literature. Major contributors to Russian literature, as well as English for instance, are authors of different e ...

. He graduated from the

Petrograd University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the university from the be ...

in 1923 and held the chair in Russian literature there. Gukovsky was considered the foremost authority on 18th-century Russian literature. After spending a winter in besieged Leningrad he read lectures in Saratov University until 1948. Upon his return to Leningrad Gukovsky was arrested as a "

rootless cosmopolitan "Rootless cosmopolitan" ( ) was a pejorative epithet that was mostly applied to intellectuals and Jews with ties to the West during the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union. It became especially prevalent during the country's anti-cosmopolitan c ...

". He died of a heart attack in Lefortovo Prison. Gukovsky's wife Natalia Rykova (1898–1928) was

Anna Akhmatova Anna Andreyevna Gorenko rus, А́нна Андре́евна Горе́нко, p=ˈanːə ɐnˈdrʲe(j)ɪvnə ɡɐˈrʲɛnkə, a=Anna Andreyevna Gorenko.ru.oga, links=yes; , . ( – 5 March 1966), better known by the pen name Anna Akhmatova,. ...

's close friend. She died in childbirth. Their daughter Natalia Dolinina (1928–1979) wrote a number of books for children. Gukovsky's disciples include Juri Lotman.

References

Russian literary historians Russian literary critics Russian formalism Saint Petersburg State University alumni Academic staff of Saint Petersburg State University Prisoners who died in Russian detention 1902 births 1950 deaths Soviet literary historians Nikolai Gogol scholars Soviet male writers 20th-century Russian male writers Inmates of Lefortovo Prison {{Russia-writer-stub