Ivan Alekseevich Kuratov

Ivan Alekseevich Kuratov – the first Komi poet, the founder of Komi literature and the Komi literary language, an educator and scholar-linguist. Ivan Kuratov was born in 1839 in the village of Kebra, now Kuratovo. His father was a deacon, and Kuratov followed in his footsteps, graduating from the Yarensk theological school in 1854. He then studied at the Vologda Theological Seminary, where he first revealed his poetic talent.

 

From 1861 to 1865 Kuratov worked as a teacher at the parish theological school in Ust-Sysolsk. During this period he studied the cultural traditions of the local people and began writing poems in his native Komi language. In 1865 Kuratov left his homeland for unknown reasons. He served as a military-judicial official in the Central Asian cities of Semipalatinsk, Verny and Semirechensk from 1866 to 1871. In 1871 Kuratov fell ill and was forced to leave military service. He returned to Ust-Sysolsk, where he continued to write and translate poetry. Kuratov died at the age of 36 in the city of Verny. Ivan Kuratov is considered the founder of Komi literature. His poems and translations played an important role in the preservation and development of the Komi language and culture. Kuratov was also a linguist and engaged in the study and description of Komi grammar and vocabulary.