Melgunov, Nikolai Aleksandrovich

Born 1804, in present-day Livny Raion, Orel Oblast; died Feb. 4 (16), 1867, in Moscow. Russian author.

Mel’gunov studied at the boarding school of the Pedagogical Institute in St. Petersburg (1818-20). He joined the Society of Lovers of Wisdom (liubomudry). In 1837, H. J. Konig’s Essays on Russian Literature (Russian translation, 1862), written with Mel’gunov’s assistance, was published in Germany. The work played a significant role in the growth of Slavic studies abroad.

Mel’gunov wrote a number of romantic novellas (Tales of the Past and the Imaginary, vols. 1-2, 1834). In his publicistic articles of the 1840’s, Mel’gunov strove to reconcile the Slavophiles and the Westernizers. He often traveled abroad. He was a friend of A. I. Herzen and contributed to his publications. In the 1860’s, Mel’gunov wrote for the liberal newspapers Nashe vremia (Our Times) and Russkie vedomosti (Russian Gazette).