Vasily Andreevich
Zhukovsky
1783-1852
Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky was an outstanding Russian poet, academician and translator, who occupied an honorable place in the history of Russian literature. He was the tutor of the future Emperor Nicholas I, as well as the mentor of the young Alexander II. V.A. Zhukovsky received his first education in the Bunin family, and then continued his studies at a private boarding school and the Tula National School. His interest in sentimentalism and acquaintance with the work of Nikolai Karamzin marked the beginning of a literary path. Early poems written during his studies at the boarding school were marked by sentimentalism and romanticism, and the ballads “Lyudmila” (1808), “Cassandra” (1809) and “Svetlana” (1808-1812) became iconic works of their time. The active literary activity of V.A. Zhukovsky acquired a special intensity in 1805-1806, when he worked in the Bulletin of Europe. During this time, he created his famous ballads, such as “The Aeolian Harp”, “The Twelve Sleeping Maidens”, as well as many poems and translations. Zhukovsky took an active part in public life and literary circles, becoming a member of the Arzamas Literary Society in 1815. In the next two decades, from 1810 to 1820, his creative activity reached its peak. Ballads, poems, translations, as well as publications in Arzamas and court service – all this has become an integral part of his rich biography. A bust has been erected in memory of V.A. Zhukovsky in Moscow on Podsosensky Lane.
Address: Moscow, Podsosensky lane, 19/28
