Alexander Afanasyev-Chuzhbinsky

He made his debut as a published poet in 1837 ("The Ring", Кольцо, Sovremennik); his first Ukrainian poem came out in 1841 (Saint Petersburg almanac Ластівка, Swallow). His Ukrainian poems were collected in From My Heart (Що було на серці) and published in 1855. Afanasyev-Chuzhbinsky's two-volume ethnographic work, A Journey to the Southern Russia (Поездка в Южную Россию, Saint Petersburg, 1861) came as a result of his 1856 journey to Pridneprovye (Dnieper Ukraine) which he made as part of an ambitious Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich-an inspired ethnographical campaign which involved several major Russian authors, including Alexander Ostrovsky and Alexey Pisemsky. He took part in compiling the Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language (Словарь малорусского наречия, А – З; 1855) which was endorsed by the Russian Academy of Sciences, even if criticized by several Ukrainian language scholars. Afanasyev launched Peterburgsky Listok (Petersburg Leaflet) in 1867, and later, in the 1870s Magazin Inostrannoi Literatury (Magazine of Foreign Literature) which he was also the editor. Afanasyev-Chuzhbinsky translated the works by James Fenimore Cooper, Henryk Rzewuski, Józef Ignacy Kraszewski and Józef Korzeniowski. In 1851 he compiled and published the Gallery of Polish Writers in 5 volumes. He died in Saint Petersburg, aged 59.

• Name — Alexander Afanasyev-Chuzhbinsky • Birth Name — Александр Степанович Афанасьев • Born — 12 March 1817 • Birthplace — Poltava Governorate, Russian Empire • Died — 18 September 1876 • Place of death — Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire • Occupation — poet • writer • editor • ethnographer • translator

He also worked under the name Aleksandr Čužbinskij. The authorities additionally record the headings Alexander Stepanovich Afanasyev and Alexander Stepanovich Afanasiev-Chuzhbinsky. His recorded languages were Russian, Ukrainian, Polish and French.