Derzhavin, Gavril Romanovich

Derzhavin, Gavril Romanovich gəvrēlˈ rəmäˈnəvĭch dyĭrzhäˈvĭn [key], 1743–1816, Russian classical poet. His satirical ode to Catherine II, Felitsa (1782), won her favor, and he became poet laureate and later Minister of Justice. The Ode to God (1784, tr. in B. G. Guerney, A Treasury of Russian Literature, 1943) is the most famous of his many lyrics. His poetry and memoirs present a rich and complex portrait of his time.

See biography by J. V. Clardy (1967).

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