Background
Vasily Ivanovich Bogdanov was born on January 24, 1837, in Chekalin, Tula, Russian Federation. His father was a local priest. His childhood passed in the Kaluga region where he attended a gymnasium.
Moscow State University
The Saint Petersburg Foundling Home
Iskra editorial
The Kronshtadt Naval Hospital
The Nikolaev Naval Hospital
Vasily Ivanovich Bogdanov was born on January 24, 1837, in Chekalin, Tula, Russian Federation. His father was a local priest. His childhood passed in the Kaluga region where he attended a gymnasium.
Vasily Ivanovich graduated from Kaluga Gymnasium in 1855. In 1855-1861 he attended the Faculty of Medicine at Moscow State University.
During his University years, Vasily Ivanovich worked as a private tutor for the Bers family, teaching their three daughters general educational subjects. In 1861 he moved to Saint Petersburg to become a doctor at the local laborers' hospital as well as a maternity department. By March of 1863, his name was mentioned in A.N. Volgin report to the local authorities among the members of Iskra newspaper's revolutionary club.
Vasily Ivanovich proceeded to work in the Baltic Fleet at the naval hospital and numerous naval depots. Inspired by two years spent in the fleet, he undertook a circumnavigation in 1865-1867. He described it in his Izumrud screw clipper's medical ship's journal in 1870 and in his travel essays in 1865-1866. It was then that his democratic views and antagonism toward any oppression, especially colonial one, were reflected in his writings.
While staying in Kronshtadt Vasily Ivanovich worked closely with the members of the local Marine Doctors Society and was its Secretary in 1874-1875. His two medical articles made part of the society's minutes. Bogdanov's brochures Tables for measuring air humidity on ships... and The way life goes on the sea dedicated to his naval experience, were published in 1876 and 1978 respectively. He spent his last year in the Black Sea Fleet, working at Nikolaev Naval Hospital.
As for his poetry, Vasily Ivanovich debuted on Iskra's pages in 1863 and worked there for ten years, shaping the newspaper's ideology. Besides, Iskra and Budilnik published his weekly reviews of international politics, called Stories from the ends of the known world. Some of his poems were published by editorials Zanoza and Peterburgsky Listok. In 1884-1885 this list was extended by the theatre newspaper Soufler and the editorial Oskolki. The main targets of Bogdanov's satiric writing were post-reform landlords, complaining about workers' laziness and rudeness and calling for the preservation of gentry's privileges. On the other hand, Vasily Ivanovich considered Western European middle class, its governments, and politicians to be oppressive towards the labor force.
Bogdanov's writing style was clearly inspired by Nekrasov's poetry. Just like his Iskra colleagues, Vasily Ivanovich often used couplets and refrains and sometimes was very successful at it. His poem Dubinushka, based on a popular Russian song, was created in such a way and was later transformed into another song, this time becoming the symbol of revolution. Vasily Ivanovich was also the translator of La Marseillaise, and his translation was published by the theatre newspaper Soufler in 1885.
His political views are clearly seen in his poetry and essays, moreover, Vasily Ivanovich worked closely with the revolutionary newspaper Iskra and was one of its main ideologists. He expressed the ideas of socialism, democracy, the abolishment of the class system and freedom of speech.
Quotes from others about the person
S.A. Bers (Tolstaya): "He was a lively, talented young man, interested in everything, a brilliant student, a skilled tutor, and a gifted poet. He was, say to say, developing us, the three sisters. He was able to teach in such an interesting manner, he could make me, a lazy girl, enjoy algebra, Russian literature, and writing essays. He brought us some books of materialists: Büchner, Feuerbach, and others. He passionately explained to me that there is no God, that the whole world consists of atoms and so on".