Dmitry Vladimirovich Venevitinov (September 14 (26), 1805, Moscow — March 15 (27), 1827, St. Petersburg) — Russian romantic poet, translator, prose writer, philosopher.

Biography.

Dmitry Venevitinov was born on September 14 (26), 1805 in Moscow in the parish of the now lost Church of Archdeacon Euplaus, which was located at the intersection of Myasnitskaya Street and Milyutinsky Lane. His father, retired ensign of the Semenovsky regiment Vladimir Petrovich Venevitinov (1777-1814), came from a wealthy Voronezh noble family. Mother, Anna Nikolaevna, came from the princely family of Obolensky-Belykh. Through her, Dmitry Venevitinov was distantly related (second cousin) to A.S. Pushkin.
Venevitinov grew up in a preserved house on Krivokolenny Lane, where he received a classical education at home, led by his mother. Venevitinov was taught French and Latin, as well as classical literature, by his tutor Dorer, a retired French officer, Greek by the Greek Bayle (Baylo), and painting by the artist La Perche. Russian literature was taught by Moscow University professor A.F. Merzlyakov, and music, most likely, by I.I. Genishta. Venevitinov also studied the German language very well, apparently under the guidance of H. I. Gerke, the tutor of his early deceased brother Peter.

In 1822, Dmitry Venevitinov entered Moscow University, where he became interested in German philosophy and romantic poetry. At the university I attended individual lectures, in particular courses by A.F. Merzlyakov, I.I. Davydov, M.G. Pavlov and Loder. In 1823, he successfully passed the university course exam and in 1824 entered the service of the Moscow Archive of the College of Foreign Affairs (“archive youths” — this is how Pushkin ironically called the employees of this archive in his novel “Eugene Onegin”). In August — September 1824, together with his younger brother Alexei, he visited his Voronezh estates, which was clearly reflected in his letters.
Venevitinov, together with Prince V.F. Odoevsky, organized the secret philosophical “Society of Philosophy,” which also included I.V. Kireevsky, A.I. Koshelev, V.P. Titov, N.A. Melgunov and others. M.P. Pogodin and S.P. Shevyrev attended the meetings of the circle, without being formally its members. The circle studied German idealistic philosophy — the works of Friedrich Schelling, Immanuel Kant, Fichte, Oken, Friedrich Schlegel and others. Venevitinov took an active part in the publication of the Moskovsky Vestnik magazine.
In November 1826, Venevitinov, under the patronage of Princess Zinaida Volkonskaya, moved from Moscow to St. Petersburg, joining the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Upon entering St. Petersburg, the poet, together with F. S. Khomyakov and Count Laval’s librarian O. Vaucher, who was escorting the wife of the Decembrist Prince to Siberia. S.P. Trubetskoy, Ekaterina Ivanovna (née Laval), was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the Decembrist conspiracy. He spent three days under arrest in one of the guardhouses in St. Petersburg. Venevitinov was interrogated by the duty general of the Main Staff A.N. Potapov. According to biographers, the arrest and interrogation had a strong effect on Venevitinov. Venevitinov and Khomyakov settled in the Lanskys’ house. Being away from family and friends, away from his native Moscow, depressed the poet, although his social circle in St. Petersburg was quite wide: V.F. Odoevsky and A.I. Koshelev already lived here. A. Delvig was a frequent guest of Venevitinov.

Venevitinov caught a bad cold on March 2, running lightly dressed from a ball in the Lansky house to his outbuilding. He died on March 15 (27), 1827 in St. Petersburg, surrounded by friends, apparently from severe pneumonia, before reaching the age of 22. The poet’s funeral service was held in the Church of St. Nicholas the Sea. The body was sent to Moscow. D.V. Venevitinov was buried on April 2, 1827 at the cemetery of the Simonov Monastery in Moscow. A. Pushkin and A. Mitskevich were at the funeral.
Venevitinov bequeathed to put on his finger at the hour of his death a ring from Herculaneum — a gift from Zinaida Volkonskaya. When he fell into oblivion, A. S. Khomyakov put the ring on his finger. Suddenly Venevitinov woke up and asked: “Am I getting married?” And he died. In the 1930s, during the demolition of the Simonov Monastery, the body of D.V. Venevitinov was exhumed and reburied at the Novodevichy Cemetery, 2nd site. 13 row. The ashes of D.V. Venevitinov’s mother and brother Alexei were not reburied. The graves were destroyed. During the exhumation, the ring was removed from the poet’s finger by the wife of the architect Pyotr Baranovsky, Maria Yuryevna, and is now kept in the Literary Museum.

Creation.

In his literary activity, Venevitinov showed diverse talents and interests. He was not only a poet, but also a prose writer, wrote literary, programmatic and critical articles (his polemics with N. A. Polev regarding the 1st chapter of Pushkin’s “Eugene Onegin” are known), translated prose works of German authors, including Goethe and Hoffmann (E. A. Maimin. “Dmitry Venevitinov and his literary heritage.” 1980).
Venevitinov wrote only about 50 poems. Many of them, especially the later ones, are filled with deep philosophical meaning, which is a distinctive feature of the poet’s lyrics.
The central theme of Venevitinov’s latest poems is the fate of the poet. The cult of the romantic poet-chosen one, highly elevated above the crowd and everyday life, is noticeable in them:

…But in pure thirst for pleasure
Don’t trust every harp’s hearing
There are not many true prophets
With the seal of secret on his forehead,
With the gifts of lofty lessons,
With the verb of heaven on earth.

A number of Venevitinov’s poems from 1826-1827, written a few months before the poet’s death (“Testament”, “To my Ring”, “Poet and Friend”) can rightfully be called prophetic. In them, the author seemed to foresee his early death:

…The soul told me long ago:
You will rush through the world like lightning!
You are given to feel everything,
But you won’t enjoy life.

Venevitinov was also known as a gifted artist, musician, and music critic. When the posthumous publication was being prepared, Vladimir Odoevsky proposed to include in it not only poems, but also drawings and musical works: “I would like to publish them together with the works of my friend, who wonderfully combined all three arts.”