Nikolai Kostomarov

Historian. Born in the village of Yurasovka in Voronezh Province in the family of Ivan Kostomarov (1817). Nineteenth-century Russian historian whose writings combined a breathtaking literary style with a strictly scientific approach backed up by documental materials. This earned the historian great popularity and contributed to the development of historical knowledge among the masses. Nikolai Kostomarov was particularly interested in Ukrainian history. Founding the St Cyril and St Methodius Society in Kiev in the second half of the 1840s, he dreamt of a confederation of all Slavonic races. After moving to St Petersburg, he was arrested and imprisoned at the Peter and Paul Fortress for anti-government activities (1847). With the liberalisation of Russian life during the reign of Tsar Alexander II, Kostomarov was invited to teach Russian history at St Petersburg University. His lectures enjoyed great popularity in the late 1850s and early 1860s. Died in St Petersburg and buried at the Volkovo Cemetery (1885).