| Leonid Nikolaevich Maykov | |
| Native Name: | Леонид Николаевич Майков |
| Birth Date: | April 9, 1839 |
| Birth Place: | Saint Petersburg |
| Death Date: | April 20, 1900 (aged 61) |
| Death Place: | Saint Petersburg |
| Resting Place: | Novodevichy Cemetery, Saint Petersburg |
| Occupation: | Historian of Russian literature, bibliographer, ethnographer |
| Credits: | , which produces label "Notable credit(s)"; or by |
| Works: | , which produces label "Works"; or by |
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| Office: | may be used as an alternative when the label is better rendered as "Office" (e.g. public office or appointments) --> |
| Mother: | Evgeniya Maykova |
| Father: | Nikolay Maykov |
| Awards: | Ordre des Palmes académiques Order of Saint Anna Order of Saint Vladimir Order of Saint Stanislaus Uvarov Prize Pushkin Prize |
Leonid Nikolaevich Maikov (Russian: Леонид Николаевич Майков; 1839–1900) was a prominent researcher in the history of Russian literature, a full member of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences, president of the Russian Bibliological Society, Privy Councillor; the son of the painter Nikolay Maykov, the younger brother of Apollon, Valerian and Vladimir Maykov.
Maykov was born on April 9, 1839. He studied at the boarding school of Count Suzor and the 2nd Saint Petersburg Gymnasium and in 1860 graduated from the course of Saint Petersburg University as a candidate of the historical and philological faculty and for some time taught at the gymnasium of the Human–Loving Society. In the same year he was enlisted in the Foreign Trade Department of the Ministry of Finance.
In 1863 Maykov defended his thesis for a master's degree in Russian literature titled "On the Epics of the Vladimir Cycle", in which he proposed a historical point of view on the origin of epics: he indicated, in particular, that the epics of the Vladimirov cycle are a reflection of the Kiev specific period. Maykov did not last long in the Ministry of Finance and in 1864 he moved to the Central Statistical Committee and took an active part in its work until 1892, as well as in international statistical congresses. From 1868, Maykov worked as a professor at the Saint Petersburg Archaeological Institute.
In 1882 he was appointed assistant director of the Imperial Public Library. In 1889 he was elected an academician, in 1893 he was appointed vice president of the Academy of Sciences. By virtue of his rank of vice president, he was chairman of the Emperor Nicholas II Foundation to assist writers and scholars.
Maykov became a member of the Russian Geographical Society in 1864. Inn 1871 he headed the ethnographic department, in 1872–1886 he was the chairman of the ethnographic department and edited several of its publications, including five volumes of "Notes on the Ethnography Department". He was also a member of the Archaeographic Commission of the from 1876, becoming ruler of affairs in 1892 and chairman in 1899. From 1868 to 1882 he was an assistant editor of the Journal of the Ministry of Education and from 1882 to 1890 editor.
Markov also began his literary activities as a student, posting a long series of historical and literary articles and reviews in Domestic Notes, Dawn, Russian Herald, Ancient and New Russia, Russian Antiquity, Russian Archive, Journal of the Ministry of Public Education, Historical Bulletin, Russian Philological Bulletin and others.
The most important of them are devoted to Simeon Polotsky, Lomonosov, Vasily Maykov, Sumarokov, Krylov, the history of Russian journalism, the ancient Russian story, the history of Russian superstitions and are collected under the title Essays from the History of Russian Literature of the 17th and 18th Centuries (Saint Petersburg, 1889, 1893).
Markov separately published Materials and Research on Ancient Russian Literature (1890–1891).
In 1889, Maykov edited a compilation of works by Konstantin Batyushkov with the assistance of Vladimir Saitov).
In 1891, he edited and characterized the collection of critical experiences of his brother Valerian.
In his master's thesis, Maykov showed significant scientific independence. In an era of almost undivided domination of the mythological explanation of folk poetry, he put forward a historical point of view on the origin of Russian epics, which is still respected by scholars. In Maykov's opinion, the Russian epic is a true echo of Russian historical life, and, in particular, the epics of the Vladimirov cycle, the Kiev specific period. Many heroes of epics – Dobrynya, Alyosha Popovich, Sadko, Ilya Muromets – the author, comparing the annals, considers them to be truly existing; in household details, he indicates traces of the actual historical life of 10th–13th centuries. Epics arose, in his opinion, among the squads.
Maykov died on April 20, 1900. He was buried in Saint Petersburg at the Novodevichy Cemetery.[1]