Semyon Afanasievich Vengerov was the preeminent literary historian of Imperial Russia.
Background
Semyon Afanasevich Vengerov was born on April 5, 1855, in Lubny, Poltava Governorate (now Lubny, Poltavs'ka Oblast', Ukraine). His father was Chonon (Afanasy) Vengerov - director of the bank in Minsk; the mother was Paulina Yulievna, - German writer, author of Grandmother’s memories (1908). His childhood he spent in Minsk.
Education
His parents were of the few acculturated Russian Jews and sent him to a Christian school, of which he once was expelled for refusing to kneel before an icon. As academic careers were barred to Jews, he converted to Orthodoxy after matriculating.
From 1868 Semyon Afanasievich studied in the 5th Saint Petersburg Gymnasium, in 1872-1874 in Medical and Surgical Academy. He graduated from School of the Law of Saint Petersburg University (1879) after that worked for a short time as an assistant of the attorney. In 1880 Semyon Afanasievich passed his exams in advance at history and philology school in Yuriyevsky (now Tartuskiy) University.
Career
From 1882 Semyon Afanasievich served in Libau-Romny Railway. From 1890 he engaged himself with bibliographical, historical, and literature activities. From 1897 Semyon Afanasievich was a lecturer at Russian literature in Saint Petersburg University, but in 1899 was removed from the teaching activities due to his "political unreliability" and returned to the university only in 1906. In 1909, he became a doctor in the Russian language at Kharkiv University.
Semyon Afanasievich began his literature and scientific activity in student years. In 1872-1875 published articles, and notes in Novosti, Nedelya newspapers, Siyaniye magazine. In 1876 he published a series of articles Literature essays in Novoye vremya newspaper.
At the end of the 70s - the beginning of the 80s he published his articles on the problems of foreign literature life, social and literature movements in Russia, and about the history of Slav nations. His views was shaped by the influence of the people, especially essays by P.L. Lavrov and N.K.Mikhaylovskiy. N.V. Shchelgunov criticized the naivety and lack of a clear sequence in liberal populist views of Vengerov.
As a specialist in literature, Semyon Afanasievich belonged to the cultural and historical school and was one of its major representatives. He promoted all the real achievements of Russian literature, revealing its development trends, emphasizing the greatness and close connection with the Russian language and life of the society. His works were characterized by a big amount of historical and literary material and novelty. The most important Vengerov’s work was The history of modern Russian literature. From Belinsky’s death to the present days (1885), which was forbidden by the resolution of the committee of ministers.
At the beginning of the 80s, he started his work Critical-biographical dictionary of Russian writers and scientists. He did not totally complete the dictionary: it included articles on "A", "Б", partly on "В" letters, as well as individual articles on other letters. Semyon Afanasevich considered the dictionary as the beginning stage in the creation of a scientific history of Russian literature.
His works still keep its practical importance, remaining among the best examples of Russian bibliography. For the Russian bibliographers, Semyon Afanasievich was not only one of the most active workers, and one of the teachers and leaders, but their symbol and banner.