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Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin

I lived from 1743-1816. I was from Russia, and am in the Asian category.

Poet, born in Kazan, Russia. In 1762 he entered the army as a private. He became Secretary of State (1791), Imperial Treasurer (1800), and Minister of Justice (1802). He published much lyric poetry, and is considered one of Russia's greatest poets.



His satirical ode to Catherine II, Felitsa (1782), won her favor, and he became poet laureate (and later Minister of Justice.) The Ode to God (1784, tr. in B. G. Guerney, A Treasury of Russian Literature, 1943) is the most famous of his many lyrics. His poetry and memoirs present a rich and complex portrait of his time.

My poetry

  • On The Death Of Prince Meshchersky
    O, Voice of time! O, metal's clang!
    Your dreadful call distresses me,
    88 lines, 4 comments
  • Felitsa
    I beg the great prophet,
    That I may touch the dust of your feet,
    260 lines
  • God
    O Thou, who's infinite in space,
    Alive in ever-moving matter,
    110 lines, 1 comment
  • The Swan
    I'll leave the mortal world behind,
    Take wing in an flight fantastical,
    40 lines
  • The Bullfinch
    Why do you strike up songs military
    Fife-like, o, bullfinch, my friend?
    24 lines
  • On A Bird
    A sweet-voiced bird's been caught.
    They squeeze it in a vice-like grip.
    4 lines, 1 comment
  • The Current Of Time's River
    The current of time's river
    Will carry off all human deeds
    8 lines, 1 comment
  • Monument
    I built myself a monument, eternal and miraculous,
    It's higher than the Pyramids, than metal it is harder;
    20 lines, 1 comment

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