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Birth of count Pavel Vyazemsky, a Russian literature historian and archaeography specialist
On June 2 (14), 1820 in Warsaw, in the family of a known Russian poet, literary critic, a friend of A. S. Pushkin – Pyotr Andreevich Vyazemsky was born the future diplomat, a historian of the Russian literature, a researcher of ancient manuscripts, a senator Pavel Petrovich Vyazemsky.
Pavel Petrovich Vyazemsky was educated at home; later he studied in Peter and Paul school under the Lutheran Church in Petersburg, attended lectures in Petersburg University. In December of 1840 Vyazemsky started to serve in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1846 he was assigned the assistant to the Russian mission secretary in Constantinople and in 1850 – the secretary junior of the Russian mission in Haag. Later he became the senior secretary of this mission and the charge d’affaires in Karlsruhe.
In 1856 Vyazemsky was conferred the title of the gentleman of the monarch’s bed chamber and assigned the senior secretary of the Russian embassy in Vena. From Aril 10 (22), 1869 he had been a member of the Imperial Arhaeological Committee. In 1862 he was transferred to the Ministry of Domestic Affairs, had been the President of St. Petersburg Committee for Foreign Censure and the next year was conferred the title of the steward of the imperial household. On April 5 (17), 1881 Vyazemsky was assigned the Head of the Press Chief Department. The count headed the Censure Committee until January 1 (13), 1883 when he was assigned a senator for Heralds Office.
Pavel Petrovich Vyazemsky.was the author of numerous literary and scientific works, such as ‘On policy of Friedrich the Great from 1763 to 1775’; ‘Notes on ‘The Tale of Igor’s Campaign’; ‘‘The Tale of Igor’s Campaign’. Research on its variations.’; ‘Internal document on the united catalogue of manuscript biographies of the Russian saints by N. P. Barsukov’; ‘On the meaning of the Russian facial manuscripts’; ‘Review of Moscow book repositories’; ‘A. S. Pushkin during 1816-1825s according to Ostafiev Archives documents’; ‘A. S. Pushkin during 1836-1837 according to Ostafiev Archives documents and personal memories’; ‘Monasteries at Ladoga and Kuben Lakes’, etc.
‘Notes on ‘The Tale of Igor’s Campaign’ and ‘The Tale of Igor’s Campaign’. Research on its variations’ are the most significant works by Vyazemsky on which he had been working for many years of his life. Being the assistant to the Russian mission secretary in Ottoman Empire capital Pavel Petrovich wrote: ‘During my leisure hours in Constantinople I have been studied the ancient relations between Russia and Eastern Empire and between Slavic tribes and Greeks in general and I was struck by the degree of kinship between both nations which is demonstrated exactly in ‘The Tale of Igor’s Campaign’’. Originally these works incited active disputes but finally the specialists acknowledged them as ‘the outstanding contribution to the Russian science’ which represent ‘a witty explanation of many vague places of the famous ‘Tale’.
‘The count Pavel Petrovich Vyazemsky had little to do with the contemporary literature, he lived by the past where Pushkin reigned. … He was never wordy, his speech was always curt, full of holding back but strong and figurative. … In spite of disorderliness of his knowledge, [Pavel Petrovich] was no dilettante. The particularity of his mind was the ability to grab always and everywhere the essential or the most important thing that describes the subject, - wrote about Vyazemsky his secretary E. N. Opochinin.
In 1877 on Vyazemsky’s initiative was founded the Society of Lovers of Ancient Script which Pavel Petrovich had been heading until his last days. The object of the Society was to publish Slavic-Russian manuscripts, their study and popularization. The core of the Museum of the Society of Lovers of Ancient Script was the collection of Pavel Petrovich which included ABC books, deeds, gospels, hagiographies, calendars, facial images, chronicles, prayer books, descriptions of cities and provinces, sermons, rank books, legends on miracles, petitions. At almost every congress of the Society Pavel Petrovich granted to the museum rare books, manuscripts, other antiquities.
Being a fervent collector, the count constantly aspired for replenishing his collections and visited regularly book shops and antiques traders. ‘Not just his study at Pochtamskaya street, but also all the living rooms of his house represented a real museum, - remembered S. D. Sheremetev, a future famous collector and the son-in-law of Pavel Petrovich.
On June 29 (July 11), 1888 Pavel Petrovich Vyazemsky died in St. Petersburg and was buried next to his father, Pyotr Andreevich, in Alexander Nevsky Laure.
Lit.: Вяземский П. П. Собрание сочинений. СПб., 1893; Вяземский Павел Петрович // Довгий О. Л., Махов А. Е. Двенадцать зеркал Пушкина. М., 1999; Описание рукописей князя П. П. Вяземского. М., 1902; Опочинин Е. Н. Князь Павел Петрович Вяземский [Электронный ресурс] // Lib.ru/Классика. 2004. URL: http://az.lib.ru/o/opochinin_e_n/text_0050.shtml; Творогов О. В. Вяземский Павел Петрович // Энциклопедия «Слова о полку Игореве». Т. 1. СПб., 1995; То же [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://feb-web.ru/feb/slovenc/es/es1/es1-2671.htm.
Based on the Presidential Library’s materials:
Вяземский П. П. Слово о полку Игореве: Исследования о вариантах. СПб., 1877;
Описание рукописей князя Павла Петровича Вяземского. СПб., 1902;