Russian poet, soldier, and statesman Gavriil Derzhavin (1743вЂ“1816) lived during an epoch of momentous change in RussiaвЂ”imperial expansion, peasant revolts, war with Turkey, and struggle with NapoleonвЂ”and he served three tsars, including Catherine the Great. Here in its first English translation is the masterful biography of Derzhavin by another acclaimed Russian man of letters, Vladislav Khodasevich. В В В В В В В В В В В  Derzhavin occupied a position at the center of Russian life, uniting civic service with poetic inspiration and creating an oeuvre that at its essence celebrated the triumphs of Russia and its rulers, particularly Catherine the Great. His biographer Khodasevich, by contrast, left Russia in 1922, unable to abide the increasingly repressive regime of the Soviets. For Khodasevich, whose lyric poems were as commonplace in their focus as DerzhavinвЂ™s odes were grand, this biography was in a sense a rediscovery of a lost and idyllic era, a period when it was possible to aspire to the pinnacles of artistic achievement while still occupying a central role in Russian society. Khodasevich writes with humor, intelligence, and understanding, and his work stands as a monument to the last three centuries of Russian history, lending keen insight into RussiaвЂ™s past as well as its present and future.      вЂњKhodasevichвЂ™s light narrative touch (as translated by Brintlinger) lends a novelistic quality to the biography, making it a genuine tour de force. All students and scholars вЂ“ of history, literature, poetry, biography вЂ“ will find something of interest here.вЂќвЂ” Choice

Derzhavin: A Biography PDF

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