Petr Kogan
Early Life and Education
Born in Mogilev, Russia, Pyotr Nikolaevich Sakulin was educated at the Mogilev Gymnasium before attending the Faculty of History and Philology at Moscow University. During his university years, Sakulin embraced Marxist ideas.
Academic and Literary Career
After graduating, Sakulin taught in Moscow. In 1909, he moved to Saint Petersburg and became a private docent at Saint Petersburg University. To qualify for professorship, he converted to Orthodoxy but was ultimately denied the position.
Sakulin was an active literary critic and translator. He translated works by John Ruskin, Hippolyte Taine, and others. His articles appeared in various publications, including the New Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron and the first edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia.
Later Life and Legacy
Following the Russian Revolution, Sakulin returned to Moscow University, teaching literature and philology. He served as Professor of the Literary and Artistic Department (1921) and later of the Roman-German Philology Department (1921-1930).
Sakulin was buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow. His wife, Nadezhda Alexandrovna Nolle-Kogan, was a translator and memoirist. Their son, Alexander Petrovich Kuleshov (Nolle), became a writer. Sakulin's significant contributions to Russian literary history and criticism continue to be recognized.
