Wilhelm Karlovich Küchelbecker

Wilhelm Karlovich Küchelbecker – a Russian poet and public figure, a friend of Pushkin and Baratynsky, a classmate of Pushkin at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, a collegiate assessor, and a Decembrist. Wilhelm Küchelbecker was born on 21 June 1797 in Saint Petersburg into a noble family of German descent. He studied at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, where he befriended Pushkin and Delvig. After graduating from the Lyceum, Küchelbecker served in the Collegium of Foreign Affairs and taught.

 

In 1820–1821 Küchelbecker traveled across Europe and gave lectures on Russian literature in Paris, mentioning the need for political reforms in Russia. His lectures were halted by order of the Russian embassy. In 1822 he served in the Caucasus as an official with special assignments under General A. P. Yermolov. In November 1825 Küchelbecker joined the secret Northern Society. During the uprising of 14 December he took part in the fighting; afterwards he attempted to flee but was arrested in Warsaw. He was sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted to hard labor in the Dinaburg fortress. From 1836 Küchelbecker lived in exile in Siberia. He died in Tobolsk on 23 August 1846.