Andrey Krayevsky
| Andrey Alexandrovich Krayevsky | |
|---|---|
 1856 portrait by Vasily Timm | |
| Born |
February 17, 1810 Moscow, Russian Empire |
| Died |
August 12, 1889 (aged 79) Pavlovsk, Russian Empire |
| Occupation |
editor publisher journalist |
| Years active | 1835 – 1880s |
Andrey Alexandrovich Krayevsky (Андрей Александрович Краевский, February 17 (o.s. 5), 1810, Moscow, Russian Empire, - August 20 (o.s. 8), 1889, Pavlovsk, Russian Empire) was a Russian publisher and journalist, best known for his work as an editor-in-chief of Otechestvennye Zapiski (1839-1867), the influential literary journal he was also the publisher of. Another well-known publication that Krayevsky founded (in 1863) was the popular newspaper Golos (The Voice).[1]
Biography
Andrey Krayevsky was born in Moscow, an illegitimate grandson of the chief of the Moscow police Nikolai Arkharov in whose house he' been brought up and given primary education. In 1823 he enrolled into the Moscow University which he graduated in 1828.[1]
Krayevsky's first venture into journalism began when he was an employee in Moscow's governor-general's office. While there, he had begun writing article and reviews for local publications. Krayevsky became the prominent figure of Russian journalism only after moving to St. Petersburg in 1831 to work in the Ministry of Public Education. While in that office, he started a newsletter for the ministry in 1835.[2]
Vladimir Odoyevsky introduced Krayevsky to the Russian capital' literary circles, Pyotr Pletnyov invited him to Sovremennik, first as a technical editor. After Alexander Pushkin's death Krayevsky took part in sorting out of the great poet's archives and became one of five Sovremennik’s co-publishers. In 1836 Krayevsky introduced Mikhail Lermontov to the Saint Petersburg cultural elite and was his literary mentor for a while.[1]
In 1837 Krayevsky became the editor of the Russky Invalid's Literary Supplement, an obscure newspaper he soon transformed into Literaturnaya Gazeta'.[1]
In 1839 Krayevsky became the editor and publisher of Otechestvennye Zapiski, a journal he originally took on lease from Pavel Svinyin. With a stellar team of authors and critics (Vladimir Odoyevsky, Evgeny Baratynsky, Vasily Zhukovsky, Alexander Veltman, Pyotr Vyazemsky, Alexey Koltsov, Nikolay Gogol, later – Vissarion Belinsky, Alexander Hertzen, Nikolay Nekrasov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky (from 1846), Ivan Turgenev, Ivan Goncharov) in the mid-1840s Krayevsky's OZ became one of the most successful and respected Russian publications. After Belinsky's departure in 1846, Krayevsky was keen on keeping the magazine's high profile, but the change of the political atmosphere in the country forced him to make compromises. 1848-published pro-monarchist article "Russia and The Western Europe as They Stand Now" saw him shifting from the left to the centre right of the Russian literary world’s political specter.[1]
In the mid-1840s he endeavored upon publishing all the translations of Sir Walter Scott's novels in the Russian language (1845–46); this project remained unfinished. Krayevsky was co-editor of Russky Invalid (1843-1852), Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti (1852-1862, with the circulation rising up to 12 thousand). In 1863 he founded the highly popular newspaper Golos, its circulation reaching the high point of 23 thousand. In 1866 he became one of the creators of the first ever Russian Telegraph Agency (RTA).[1][2]
Andrey Krayevsky died on 20 (8, old style) in Pavlovsk.[1]