Grigory Gukovsky

Who is Grigory Gukovsky?

Grigory Alexandrovich Gukovsky was a Russian Formalist literary historian and scholar whose work at the Pushkin House led to the rediscovery of 18th-cengury Russian literature.

He graduated from the Petrograd University in 1923 and held the chair in Russian literature there. Gukovsky was considered the foremost authority on 18th-century Russian literature. After spending a winter in besieged Leningrad he read lectures in Saratov University until 1948. Upon his return to Leningrad Gukovsky was arrested as a "rootless cosmopolitan". He died of a heart attack in Lefortovo Prison.

Gukovsky's wife Natalia Rykova was Anna Akhmatova's close friend. She died in childbirth. Their daughter Natalia Dolinina wrote a number of books for children. Gukovsky's disciples include Yuri Lotman.