Olenin, Aleksei

Born Nov. 28 (Dec. 9), 1763, in Moscow; died Apr. 17 (29), 1843, in St. Petersburg. Russian historian, archaeologist, artist, and statesman.

Olenin became an honorary member of the Academy of Arts in 1804 and the academy’s president in 1817. He became director of the Imperial Public Library in 1811 and a member of the State Council in 1827. His major works dealt with Russian history. The most famous work, entitled Letter to Count A. I. Musin-Pushkin on the Tmutarakan’Stone (1806), marked the beginning of Russian epigraphy.