Vladimir (or “V.F.”) Odoevsky (whose name is stressed on the second syllable – “Odóevsky”, as opposed to “Dostoévsky”) was a central figure in nineteenth-century Russian culture over a period of nearly half a century. From being something of an “angry young man” of Russian literature in the early 1820s, when he edited the thrusting almanac Mnemozina [Mnemosyne] together with the future “Decembrist” Vil'gel'm Kiukhel'beker, he went through a flourishing period as a leading Romantic writer of mystical and Gothic leanings, before maturing into an over-conscientious public servant and an indefatigable philanthropist. At the end of his life he was a Moscow senator, a leading musicologist, a keen amateur s…
Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are not a subscriber, please click here to read about membership. All our articles have been written recently by experts in their field, more than 95% of them university professors.