Znamensky Mikhail Stepanovich

Znamenskiy Mikhail Stepanovich (1833-1892) – Siberian graphic artist, public figure, local lore writer, archaeologist and ethnographer was born in Kurgan on May 14 (26), 1833 in the family of the priest S.Ya. Znamensky. He studied at the Tobolsk Theological Seminary, at the Petersburg Theological Seminary (1851 – 1853) in drawing classes under the guidance of the academician of painting F.G. Solntseva.
In Tobolsk, he was close to the family of the Decembrist M.A. Fonvizin, as well as other members of the Tobolsk colony of the Decembrists. In 1859, Znamensky received the title of teacher of drawing from the Academy of Arts and was able to teach at the Mariinsky School for Women (1859 – 1868). In 1864 – 1867 he served as a translator of the Tatar language under the Tobolsk provincial government. In 1864, as an artist-topographer, he photographed plans and made sketches on the Kokand border.

M.S. Znamensky is the author of drawings and memoirs and biographical prose dedicated to the Decembrists: “Tobolsk in the 40s”, “Disappeared people”, essays “Ivan Dmitrievich Yakushkin”, “Natalia Dmitrievna Fonvizina”, “My childhood among the Decembrists”.

In 1877-1881, M. Znamensky conducted the first archaeological excavations in the vicinity of Tobolsk. As a result, a rich archaeological collection was collected, several albums with sketches of artifacts and a whole series of cultural studies were created.

The works of Mikhail Stepanovich Znamensky are kept in the State Historical Museum, the State Literary Museum, the Pushkin House, the Hermitage, in many Siberian museums and abroad.