| Aleksey Pleshcheyev | |
|---|---|
A. N. Pleshcheyev, 1880s |
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| Born | Aleksey Nikolayevich Pleshcheyev 4 December 1825 Kostroma, Russia |
| Died | 8 October 1893 (aged 67) Paris, France |
| Occupation | Poet Writer translator Political activist |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Alma mater | Saint Petersburg State University |
| Period | 1846-1993 |
| Subjects | political satire children poetry |
| Children | A. A. Pleshcheyev (1858–1944) |
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Aleksey Nikolayevich Pleshcheyev (Russian: Алексей Николаевич Плещеев, 4 December [O.S. 22 November] 1825 – 8 October 1893) was a radical Russian poet of the 19th century, one of the Petrashevsky Circle.
Pleshcheyev's first book of poetry, published in 1846, made him famous: «Вперед! без страха и сомненья…» (Step forward! Without fear or doubt...) became widely known as "a Russian La Marseillaise'" (and was sung as such, using French melody), «На зов друзей» (Friends' calling...)and «По чувствам братья мы с тобой» (We're brothers by the way we feel...) were also adopted by the mid-1840s' Russian radical youth as revolutionary hymns.[1][2]
In 1849, as a member of Petrashevsky Circle, Pleshcheyev was arrested, sent (alongside Fyodor Dostoyevsky among others) to St. Petersburg and spent 8 months in Petropavlovskaya prison. Having initially been given a death sentence, Pleshcheyev was then deported to Uralsk, near Orenburg where he spent ten years in exile, serving first as a soldier, later as a junior officer.
In his latter life Pleshcheyev became widely known for his numerous translations (mostly from English and French) and also poems for children, some of which are now considered classic. Many of Pleshcheyev's poems have been set to music (by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff among others) to become popular Russian romances.[2]