Kurochkin, Vasilii Stepanovich

Born July 28 (Aug. 9), 1831, in St. Petersburg; died there Aug. 15 (27), 1875. Russian poet, journalist, and social figure.

Kurochkin was the son of a freed serf and the brother of N. S. Kurochkin. He served in the army (until 1853) and in the civil service, turning to literature and social activity in the mid-1850’s. From 1861 to 1863 he was a member of the Central Committee of Land and Liberty.

In the early 1850’s, Kurochkin appeared in print as a poet, prose writer, and playwright. His translations of the Songs of Béranger became popular (the first edition appeared in 1858 and was reissued six times during Kurochkin’s lifetime). From 1859 to 1873 he edited the journal Iskra; his contributions as an original poet of the Nekrasov school—civic poet, tribune, polemicist, and master of political caricature in verse—were an integral part of the journal.