Elagin Ivan Perfilievich

(1725 - 1794).
In 1743, Mr.. released from the land of the Cadet Corps. By the fiftieth year shall be assigned poem Elagina, very juicy character who walked hand in the numerous lists. Printed his satire "On petimetra and coquettes" ( "Library Notes", 1859,? 15). When in 1758, Mr.. was arrested Chancellor Count Bestuzhev-Ryumin, . Suspected of conspiracy in favor of Grand Duchess Catherine Alekseevny, . Elagin as a supporter of the future Empress and trustee Poniatowski (later king of Poland) was exiled to Kazan Province,
. With the accession of Catherine Elagin immediately was returned from exile and, despite the hostility to him Orlov, generously rewarded for their loyalty. Later, he was a senator and Great Chamberlain. The Empress spoke of him, "that he is good without bias". He was heir to the throne, and approximate, with Sumarokov, his regular guest. The most striking feature of his work is the management of the theaters (1755 - 1779). At that time, established a Russian public theater (1774), . based, . assessment of his assistant Bibikova, . Drama School (1779), . sent abroad to recruit a French troupe Dmitrevsky, . laid the Bolshoi Theater; managerial part theater, see the excellent condition, . despite the unusual luxury of setting,
. Resignation Elagina still explain anecdotal detail, gleaned Bantysh-Kamensky of unsubstantiated testimony of Prince Golitsyn, the newly discovered information, give it a different spot (cm. Retrieve Baron Driz "п?.п?. Elagin "," Russian Antiquities ", 1893, October). Elagin played a significant role in Russian Freemasonry, to which he belonged from an early age, at the end of his life is changed for the worse attitude Catherine, once jokingly marked: "The Chancellor Mr Elagina". In St. Petersburg provincial couch English system, opened in 1770, Elagin first received the title of the great masters. In 1777, Mr.. Elagin participated in the introduction among the Russian Freemasonry Masonic Swedish system of strict surveillance. Carried away at one time a secret science, he was an ardent adherent of Cagliostro. He left a curious (unfinished) Note on Freemasonry, mostly Russian (published in 1864). As Khrapovitsky, Elagin, apparently, was a member of Catherine on some of its literary works, have composed some verses for her comedies and stuff. There are indications that Elagin once translated all comedy Detusha, it is attributed to unpublished translation of the French comedy "Jean de France", played in 1765, and much more (Article Longinov in the "Russian Antiquities", 1870, t. II). Elagin considered one of the founders of the primitive Slavophilism, he sometimes wrote about in Slavonic. Fonvizin, from 1763 to 1769. served under him secretary, at first imitating Elagin eating many Slavic words and kadanzirovannuyu prose ". Most clearly "Slavic" direction Elagina affected begun in his declining years (1790) "Experience the story of Russia," recounted to 1389 g. Scientific methods "Experience" (published 1 part, Moscow, 1803) is very naive and can not withstand the most condescending critics. Some features of his character say Bantysh-Kamensky ( "Dictionary of the sights of the Russian people", 1847), Zhikharev (Fatherland Notes, 1856, "9), baking (" Materials for the history of literature and magazines of Catherine II "), C. Poroshin ( "Notes"). - Wed. Longinov "Novikov and Martinists; his own article in" XVIII century. " Bartenev, t. II; Vengerov "Russian poetry" and "sources. words. Russian writers.