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1743
Born near Kazan to poor landowner parents
1759
Enters Kazan High School where he receives a substandard
education and does not even receive his degree
1762
Called to serve in the Preobrazhensky Guards; he remains
in the regiment until 1772, when he receives officer's commission
1774
Writes first substantive poetry, the "Chitalagai Odes,"
which were published two years after; the solemn and lyrical
poem "Ode on the Death of General Bibikov" was
included in this cycle
1777
Receives his discharge, with the rank of liutenant colonel,
with a large estate granted by Catherine II
1778
Marries one of the Dyakov sisters, who grants him the patronage
of the 18th-century luminaries Kapnist and Lvov and entry
into certain literary circles who formed their intellectual
attitude in reaction to the solemnity of Lomonosov; their
style resulted in a kind of "pre-romanticism
1778-79
Journal Saint Petersburg Messenger publishes numerous poems,
"Ode on the Death of Prince Meshchersky," and
"Verses on the Birth in the North of a Porphyrogonnete
Child," the latter being dedicated to the future Tsar
Aleksander I and remarkable for being the first ode where
Derzhavin tossed aside traditional classical elements and
mixed "high" and "low" genres to new
effect
1782
Solidifies his position with regard to Catherine with dedication
of "Ode to Felitsa,' a genre-bending work that addressed
the Empress in a bantering tone, but in a witty and sentimental
manner that impressed Catherine
1783
Writes "Vision of Murza," whose vision of Petersburg
was the first urban depiction in Russian poetry
1784
Writes meditative ode "God"
1785
Transferred as the Governor to the Province of Tambov
1786
Appointed Governor of the Olonetsk province
1787
His poem which paraphrased Psalm 81 finally allowed to be
published; it was censored for its critical tone toward
Catherine II
1789
Writes "Portrait of Felitsa" gains him the appointment
as personal secretary for the receipt of petitions and entry
into Empress's inner circle
1791-4
Writes "The Waterfall," which was dedicated to
Potemkin and was remarkable for its pre-romantic elements
1802
Made Minister of Justice by Aleksander I
1804
Writes musical Dobrynya
1807
Writes "To Evgeny, Life at Zvanka," writes drama Herod and Mariamna
1808
Writes the tragedy The Dark One
1811
Joins the Collegium of Lovers of Russian Literature, headed
by Admiral Shishkov and begins theoretical piece "Dissertation
on Lyric Poetry, or the Ode"
1814
Writes the opera The Terrible, or the Subjugation of
Kazan
1815
Witnesses A. S. Pushkin's graduation exercises
1816
Dies well known for his anti-classicist stance, a poet who
helped to transform all of Russian literature
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