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Alexey GvozdevSoviet theatre critic and theatre historian, literary scholar
Date of Birth: 08.03.1887
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Content:
Early Life and Education
Alexei Gvozdevwas born on February 24, 1887, in St. Petersburg, into an affluent merchant family. From 1897 to 1905, he studied at the German-language Peter and Paul Gymnasium. In 1905, he began a period of study abroad, attending lectures on literature, philosophy, and linguistics in Leipzig and Munich.
Academic Career
In 1908, Gvozdev enrolled in the history and philology department of St. Petersburg University, graduating in 1913. In 1916, he began teaching at the university and other higher education institutions in the capital, specializing in foreign literature. His first university course focused on the work of Jean-Baptiste Molière.
Theatrical Criticism
Gvozdev made his literary debut in 1914 with an article criticizing Vsevolod Meyerhold, who would later become his idol. His article sparked a lifelong interest in theater studies.
Theatre History
Gvozdev played a pioneering role in the establishment of western European theater history as an academic discipline in Russia. His magnum opus, "Western European Theatre at the Turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries" (1939), remains a seminal work in the field.
Legacy
Gvozdev contributed numerous articles to the Bolshoi Soviet Encyclopedia and the Literary Encyclopedia. He died in St. Petersburg and was buried in the Literary Bridges of Volkov Cemetery.
