Sergii Aleksandrovich Shirinsky-Shikhmatov is remembered in Russian literary history primarily because the most renowned writers of the early nineteenth century (including Aleksandr Pushkin and Konstantin Batiushkov) wrote malicious and witty epigrams about him. However, there was a brief period when he was at the center of literary life, when he had not only enemies and deriders but also devoted admirers, some of whom saw in him the hope of Russian poetry. Those times are long past, but his subsequent oblivion is far from justified. This talented author undoubtedly deserves a place in the history of Russian poetry.

Prince Sergii Aleksandrovich Shirinsky-Shikhmatov (later Hieromonk, or monastic priest, Anikita) was born in 1783 in the village of Dernovo in the Viazemsky district of Smolensk province. The day and month of his birth are unknown. His father was a retired lieutenant of modest means, though a well-educated man. At home the future...