Mikhail Matveyevich Kheraskov

Mikhail Matveyevich Kheraskov (born Nov. 5 [Oct. 25, Old Style], 1733, Pereyaslav, Poltava province, Ukraine, Russian Empire [now Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky, Ukraine]—died Oct. 9 [Sept. 27], 1807, Moscow, Russia) was an epic poet, playwright, and influential representative of Russian classicism who was known in his own day as the Russian Homer. The son of a Walachian noble who had settled in Russia, Kheraskov became director of Moscow University in 1763. He determined to give Russia a national...