author
V. N. (Vasilij Nikolaevic) Devjatnin
1862–1938
A Russian Esperantist, teacher, translator, and poet, he helped bring major literary works into Esperanto and took part in the language’s early international movement. His writing reflects both literary ambition and a deep belief in Esperanto as a shared cultural bridge.
1 Audiobook
Verkaro de V. N. Devjatnin, Libro Unua
by V. N. (Vasilij Nikolaevic) Devjatnin
About the author
Born in 1862 in Oryol Governorate, V. N. Devjatnin — Vasily Nikolaevich Devjatnin — became known as a Russian teacher of literature, Russian, and Latin, as well as a poet and translator. Bibliographic and reference sources consistently identify him as an important early Esperanto writer and translator, and his surviving works show how closely his literary life became tied to that language.
Devjatnin learned Esperanto in the early 1890s and went on to play a visible role in the movement. He is associated with original verse and with translations of major works into Esperanto, including pieces linked with Pushkin and Lermontov, and he later published collections such as Verkaro de V. N. Devjatnin, Libro Unua. His reputation today rests largely on that blend of teaching, translation, and literary advocacy.
He died in Leningrad on March 28, 1938. Although he is not widely known outside Esperanto circles, he remains a memorable figure from the language’s formative years: a writer who treated Esperanto not simply as a tool, but as a serious home for literature.