Anastasevich, Vasilii

Anastasevich, Vasilii Grigor’evich 

Born Feb. 28, 1775; died Feb. 16, 1845. Russian bibliographer, publisher, and translator. Progressive public figure.

Anastasevich was closely connected with the circle of N. P. Rumiantsev, the well-known collector of Russian antiquities, chronicles, documents, and books. In 1811–12 he published the journal Ulei (The Beehive), in which his own articles appeared. He was the first person in Russia to deal with a number of questions of bibliographic theory, such as the need for a state bibliographic registry, compilation of a bibliography of articles in periodicals, and so on. His chief works consisted of the articles “On Bibliography” (1811); “Concise Information on All Those Published in Russian Periodicals and Gazettes from 1707 to 1823” (Novosti literatury, 1822, book II, nos. 23, 25, 1823, book IV, no. 18); “A Catalog of Suggested Russian Readings” from the library of V. A. Plavil’shchikov (1820) and of A. Smirdin (1828). His translation of the Polish work by W. Strojnowski, On the Obligations of Landlords and Peasants (1809), reflected his disapproval of serfdom and elicited criticism from official circles. Anastasevich compiled a scholarly edition of the Lithuanian statute (1811) and others.

REFERENCE

Briskman, M. A. V. G. Anastasevich. Moscow, 1958.