Gavriil Zhulev
Gavriil Nikolayevich Zhulev was a Russian satirical poet, dramatist and actor.
Biography
A St Petersburg Theatre college alumnus, Zhulev started out as a professional actor and joined the Alexandrinka troupe in 1853 which he stayed with until 1875. Invited to Iskra by Nikolai Kurochkin, Zhulev debuted as published author in 1860 to become a regular and prolific contributor to this magazine, as well as Budilnik, Peterburgskaya Gazeta, Peterburgsky Listok and Strekoza, using the pen names Skorbny Poet, Debutante, and Gus. Zhulev released two collections of poetry, which he compiled himself, Pesni Skorbnogo poeta and Bah! Znakomuye vse litsa!, the former having been favourably reviewed by Saltykov-Shchedrin. "The Poverty, which merrily mocks itself and laughs whole-heartedly at the rich man's obnoxiousness... is Mournful Poet's major motif," the Iskra preface read. Zhulev co-authored a dozen plays, with Ivan Chernyshov, Alexander Sokolov, Nikolai Leykin and Sergey Khudekov. Mostly vaudevilles, they have been produced on stage, enjoyed some success but were ignored by critics.