Slavic Scholar and Educator Pyotr Bezsonov (1827-1898): A Life and Legacy

Alexander  Kaplin; Olha  Honcharova; Valentyna  Hlushych; Halyna  Marykivska; Viktoriia  Budianska; Svitlana  Lavinda

doi:10.36941/ajis-2021-0070

Authors

Alexander Kaplin Department of Historiography, Source Studies and Archeology, V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Kharkiv, Ukraine
Olha Honcharova Department of Theory and Practice of the English Language, H.S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University, Kharkiv, Ukraine
Valentyna Hlushych Professor Leonid Ushkalov Ukrainian Literature and Journalism Department, H.S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University, Kharkiv, Ukraine
Halyna Marykivska Department of Social and Humanitarian Disciplines, Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs, Kharkiv, Ukraine
Viktoriia Budianska Department of Pedagogy, Foreign Philology and Translation, Simon Kuznets Kharkiv National University of Economics, Kharkiv, Ukraine
Svitlana Lavinda Department of Ukrainian and Russian as Foreign Languages, O.M. Beketov Kharkiv National University of Urban Economy, Kharkiv, Ukraine

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36941/ajis-2021-0070

Keywords:

Bezsonov (Bessonov), Slavic folklore, folk songs, Slavic languages and dialects, old Russian and Slavic literatures

Abstract

Nowadays the name of Pyotr Bezsonov, the acknowledged in pre-revolutionary Russia scholar, is known to but a narrow circle of researchers as some myths and stereotypes about him have proved difficult to overwhelm. Yet, he traced in the history of Slavic studies as an assiduous collector of ancient Russian and Slavic literature works and explorer of Bulgarian, Belarusian and Serbian folklore, folk songs in particular, a scrutinizer of the Slavic languages and dialects, a talented pedagogue and editor. Based on the genuine sources, such as letters, documents and memoirs, as well as nineteenth century publications, which have become the bibliographic rarities, this article aims to present the revised biography of the scholar through revealing the hitherto unknown or underestimated facts of his life and research activity; also, to highlight his achievements in the field of Slavic history, literatures and linguistics; finally, to determine the place deserved by Bezsonov in Russian and European culture as a whole. The special attention is given to the Kharkiv period, related to the years of his professorship at Kharkiv University.

Received: 17 February 2021 / Accepted: 9 April 2021 / Published: 10 May 2021