The Presidential Library’s video lecture spotlighted the poet and mentor of the most august persons Vasily Zhukovsky

On February 8, 2023 the Presidential Library, as part of the Knowledge of Russia project, hosted a video lecture “The greatest talent with the most beautiful soul”, timed to coincide with the 240th anniversary of Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky.

The name of Vasily Zhukovsky is one of the key names in Russian literature. A brilliant poet and translator, the founder of romanticism in Russia, the author of the words of the anthem of the Russian Empire "God save the Tsar!", Zhukovsky is also known for his gift as a teacher. Zhukovsky's contribution to pedagogy is enormous: he expressed valuable thoughts on the self-development of children, discussed the importance of habits, wrote articles on pedagogy and thought out lessons for classes with the heir to the throne, the future Emperor Alexander II.

The Presidential Library’s video lecture was dedicated to the pedagogical gift of Vasily Zhukovsky.

Doctor of Philology, Professor of Tomsk State University Olga Borisovna Lebedeva focused on the results and prospects of publishing the Complete Works of Zhukovsky in 20 volumes.

At the event, Doctor of Philology, Professor of Orenburg State University Svetlana Alekseevna Matyash made a presentation entitled “Vasily Zhukovsky’s Poetry Transfers in the Reception of Russian Poets”. Within the framework of this speech, the influence of Zhukovsky's poetry on the evolution of all Russian poetry of the 19th-20th centuries was considered.

In the lecture “Education for Virtue: Vasily Zhukovsky as Mentor of the Heir to the Throne”, Anna Nikolaevna Sidorova, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Chief Specialist of the Department for Storage of Documents on the History of Russia in the 19th – early 20th centuries of the State Archive of the Russian Federation, told about Zhukovsky as a mentor to Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich and the features of the system of raising children in the family of Emperor Nicholas I as well as the role Vasily Zhukovsky played in this system.

The video lecture is available on the institution's Rutube-channel.

The Presidential Library regularly holds interactive lessons and video lectures. Detailed information is available on the institution's portal in the Multimedia Lessons section and in the Video lectures for school heading. Video recordings of lectures and open lessons are also available here.