Nikolai Pavlov

Born Sept. 7 (19), 1803, in Moscow; died there Mar. 29 (Apr. 10), 1864. Russian writer.

Born into the family of a manor serf, Pavlov was granted his freedom in 1811. In 1821 he graduated from the Moscow Theatrical School and in 1825 from the division of literature of Moscow University. He began writing during the 1820’s. In 1831 he published the first translations of H. de Balzac to appear in Russia. Pavlov’s book Three Tales (1835), which had a marked note of social protest, was highly praised by A. S. Pushkin and V. G. Belinskii. One of its novellas, “The Name Day,” dealt with the fate of a serf musician; another, “The Iataghan,” recounted the tragedy of a soldier without rights. The book angered Nicholas I and could not be reprinted. Pavlov’s New Tales (1839) were not successful.

During the 1840’s many literary figures gathered at the home of Pavlov and his wife, K. K. Pavlova. In the 1850’s, Pavlov wrote critical and journalistic articles. During the 1860’s he published the antidemocratic newspapers Nashe vremia (1860–63) and Russkie vedomosti (1863–64).