Ivan Yelagin
Encyclopedia
Ivan Perfilievich Yelagin (Иван Перфильевич Елагин; 1725-1794) was an amateur poet and translator who acted as unofficial secretary to Catherine the Great in the early years of her reign.
Yelagin studied in the cadet corps for nobles with Mikhail Kheraskov
and Alexander Sumarokov
, a popular playwright whose works he alternately praised and derided. He became Catherine's ally when she was Grand Duchess at the court of Empress Elisabeth. In 1758, the Empress banished him from the court for his close ties to the disgraced chancellor Bestuzhev.
After Catherine's coming to power in 1762, Yelagin replaced Sumarokov as director of the court theatres. His dominion over the Russian theatre was described as tyrannical: for instance, Yelagin demanded that comedies and other foreign plays were transposed to Russian settings. He also helped Catherine in re-editing her manuscripts: all her literary works survive only in Yelagin's handwritten copies.
"There were few social activities in which he did not involve himself", as historians have noted. "With Dr Ely, a converted Jew and a mason, Yelagin studied Hebrew and Cabbala, theosophy
, physics
and chemistry
, Egyptian traditions". He entertained Count Cagliostro in his house and is mentioned in Casanova
's memoirs. Yelagin is probably best remembered as a founding father of the Russian freemasonry. This side of his activities eventually aroused Catherine's suspicions and contributed to his downfall in the early 1780s.
Yelagin's sumptuous villa
on the eponymous isle
to the north of St. Petersburg was later rebuilt into an imperial residence (see Yelagin Palace
).
Yelagin studied in the cadet corps for nobles with Mikhail Kheraskov
Mikhail Kheraskov
Mikhail Matveyevich Kheraskov was regarded as the most important Russian poet by Catherine the Great and her contemporaries.Kheraskov's father was a Romanian boyar who settled in the Ukraine...
and Alexander Sumarokov
Alexander Sumarokov
Alexander Petrovich Sumarokov was a Russian poet and playwright who single-handedly created classical theatre in Russia, thus assisting Mikhail Lomonosov to inaugurate the reign of classicism in Russian literature....
, a popular playwright whose works he alternately praised and derided. He became Catherine's ally when she was Grand Duchess at the court of Empress Elisabeth. In 1758, the Empress banished him from the court for his close ties to the disgraced chancellor Bestuzhev.
After Catherine's coming to power in 1762, Yelagin replaced Sumarokov as director of the court theatres. His dominion over the Russian theatre was described as tyrannical: for instance, Yelagin demanded that comedies and other foreign plays were transposed to Russian settings. He also helped Catherine in re-editing her manuscripts: all her literary works survive only in Yelagin's handwritten copies.
"There were few social activities in which he did not involve himself", as historians have noted. "With Dr Ely, a converted Jew and a mason, Yelagin studied Hebrew and Cabbala, theosophy
Theosophy
Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
, physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, Egyptian traditions". He entertained Count Cagliostro in his house and is mentioned in Casanova
Giacomo Casanova
Giacomo Girolamo Casanova de Seingalt was an Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice. His autobiography, Histoire de ma vie , is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of the customs and norms of European social life during the 18th century...
's memoirs. Yelagin is probably best remembered as a founding father of the Russian freemasonry. This side of his activities eventually aroused Catherine's suspicions and contributed to his downfall in the early 1780s.
Yelagin's sumptuous villa
Villa
A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...
on the eponymous isle
Yelagin Island
Yelagin Island is an island at the mouth of the Neva River which is part of St. Petersburg, Russia. Yelagin Island is home to the Yelagin Palace but has few other buildings; the island initially served as a wooded retreat for the ruling class...
to the north of St. Petersburg was later rebuilt into an imperial residence (see Yelagin Palace
Yelagin Palace
Yelagin Palace completed in 1822 is a palace in Saint Petersburg which is situated on Yelagin Island in the Neva River and served as a royal summer palace during the reign of Tsar Alexander I...
).