February 13 – 255 years since the birth of Ivan Andreevich KRYLOV

The first publication of Ivan Andreevich Krylov dates back to December 1786: an epigram signed “I. Kr.” It began with the lines:
“You brag about your sound mind everywhere shamelessly,
But a sound mind is not visible in your deeds.”

The first fables of Ivan Andreevich Krylov appeared without a signature on the pages of the magazine “Morning Hours” in 1788. Three works, entitled “The Shy Gambler,” “The Fate of the Gamblers,” and “The Newly Granted Donkey,” were almost unnoticed by readers and did not receive critical acclaim. There was a lot of sarcasm and causticity in them, but not yet enough skill.

Krylov had the rank of state councilor, was a full member of the Imperial Russian Academy (since 1811), and an ordinary academician of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in the Department of Russian Language and Literature (since 1841).

While living in St. Petersburg, Ivan Andreevich loved to walk along the alleys of the Summer Garden with his friends. Many of Krylov’s contemporaries recall that Ivan Andreevich could often be seen dozing on a garden bench.

After the death of the fabulist in 1855, a monument to Krylov by sculptor P.K. was erected near the main alley of the Summer Garden. Klodt, on whose pedestal the author depicted the heroes of Krylov’s fables. Since its installation in the Summer Garden, the monument has become a place of attraction for city children.