Author: Eustaphieve, Alexei Grigorevich
Biography:
EUSTAPHIEVE, Alexei Grigorevich (1783-1857: Hollis)
The first Russian Consul in Boston. His names are variously transliterated (Aleksei, Aleksyei, and Evstafiev, Evstaf'ev, Yevstafiev) but he published in English as Alexis Eustaphieve. While still a seminary student, he made part of a group sent from Russia to provide church services for the Russian embassy in London. He began to write and publish in English. In 1805 he married an Englishwoman named Sarah. In 1808 he began his diplomatic career in the US, serving as Consul first in Boston, where he published poetry, drama, and political analysis and had his play performed. He was transferred to New York in 1828 but was dismissed from his post in 1835 for having taken American citizenship--partly, it seems, for the benefit of his children. His last works were on homeopathy. He is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn; the New York Public Library holds a collection of his papers. (Susan Smith-Peter, "The Russian Federalist Papers: Aleksei Evstaf'ev, the War of 1812, and Russian-American Relations," New Perspectives on Russian-American Relations ed. Whisenhunt and Saul [2015] 20-35; WorldCat) HJ
Other Names:
- Alexis Eustaphieve