Yevgraf Petrovich Savelyev was a historian, teacher, poet, and journalist. He was born in 1860 in the Konstantinovskaya stanitsa. Savelyev came from a noble family of members of the Don Cossack Host. He received elementary education at the Konstantinovskoye parochial school and got a degree in education at the Novocherkassk teachers’ training college. After graduating from college, he dedicated almost fifteen years of his life to educating children as a parochial school teacher. At the turn of the century, he worked as a clerk in the Don Host Oblast Administration. In 1913, he became an active participant in community activities. He was appointed chairman of the headquarters of the Don Mutual Aid Society and was later elected member of the board of the Novocherkassk Society of Mutual Credit. In 1917, he became lieutenant colonel from the First Don District in the Host Oblast Government.
Savelyev was a noted scholar of Cossack history. He studied the customs, everyday life, and traditions of his native land throughout his entire life. His first research articles were published in the 1880s in the Novocherkassk newspaper “The Voice of Don”. Apart from journalistic articles, Savelyev wrote poems, theater plays, short stories, and fables. He published them in the local periodical press under the pen name “Yevgraf”.
His most famous works include “Yermak and His Followers — Who Were They?”, “Ataman Platov and the Foundation of Novocherkassk”, “The Types of Don Cossacks and Their Dialects”, and “Stepan Razin. A Historical Drama”.
These books also include the historical drama “Bulavin and Nekrasov” published in 1917. It tells the story of the Cossack rebellion under Kondraty Bulavin and his associate Ignat Nekrasov. The uprising began in 1707 when Peter the Great violated the unspoken rule “the Don does not return fugitives” and demanded that the Cossacks should return runaway Russian peasants who tried to evade their obligations. This event was also preceded by Bulavin capturing saltworks and entering into clashes with the government. In general, the Cossacks advocated for the reduction in the powers of the Tsar in the Don region, attempted to capture the town of Azov, and wanted to establish contact with the Turks.
In 1708, Bulavin was betrayed and murdered, but Nekrasov followed in his footsteps. Eventually, he led his followers to the Kuban region where he founded the Cossack Republic.
Savelyev was a noted scholar of Cossack history. He studied the customs, everyday life, and traditions of his native land throughout his entire life. His first research articles were published in the 1880s in the Novocherkassk newspaper “The Voice of Don”. Apart from journalistic articles, Savelyev wrote poems, theater plays, short stories, and fables. He published them in the local periodical press under the pen name “Yevgraf”.
His most famous works include “Yermak and His Followers — Who Were They?”, “Ataman Platov and the Foundation of Novocherkassk”, “The Types of Don Cossacks and Their Dialects”, and “Stepan Razin. A Historical Drama”.
These books also include the historical drama “Bulavin and Nekrasov” published in 1917. It tells the story of the Cossack rebellion under Kondraty Bulavin and his associate Ignat Nekrasov. The uprising began in 1707 when Peter the Great violated the unspoken rule “the Don does not return fugitives” and demanded that the Cossacks should return runaway Russian peasants who tried to evade their obligations. This event was also preceded by Bulavin capturing saltworks and entering into clashes with the government. In general, the Cossacks advocated for the reduction in the powers of the Tsar in the Don region, attempted to capture the town of Azov, and wanted to establish contact with the Turks.
In 1708, Bulavin was betrayed and murdered, but Nekrasov followed in his footsteps. Eventually, he led his followers to the Kuban region where he founded the Cossack Republic.
