Yakov Grot graduated from the Russian Tsarkoye Selo lyceum in 1832. His father was a teacher at the lyceum, where the sons of Russia’s political elite were trained for the empire’s highest civil offices. Upon graduation, the 19-year-old youth was appointed to a post on the Russian ministerial committee, from where he later progressed to the government cabinet. Like many officials of the time, Grot was a literature aficionado, which shaped his lifework.

In his spare time, Grot translated George Byron’s works into Russian. The meritorious translations drew the attention of the rector of the University of St Petersburg, Petr Pletnev. Through Pletnev, Grot came in contact with other prominent figures in the Russian literary and cultural scene. When Grot became interested in the Swedish poet Esaias Tegnér’s work and produced excellent Russian translations, the idea was conceived that he could be an excellent ambassador for Finno-Russian cultural relations.

Grot already spoke Finnish and Swedish, and he had made the acquaintance of the top names in Finnish academic and cultural circles, in particular Fredrik Cygnaeus and Johan Ludvig Runeberg , on a spa trip in 1838. Upon the initiative of his Russian patrons, he was transferred to the office of the Minister-Secretary of the State for Finland in 1840.

Having lived but a year in Helsinki, in April 1841 Grot was appointed the first official professor of Russian history and statistical research as well as Russian language and literature. Prior to this, he had actively participated in organising the university’s 200th anniversary festivities. Grot was also appointed inspector of Russian teaching for the diocese of Porvoo in 1844.

At first Grot enjoyed considerable popularity among his students. However, when the general attitude towards Russia cooled at the end of the 1840s, Grot fell out of favour. In the spring of 1846, rocks were thrown at his apartment windows – apparently by students – although Grot himself down-played the incident in his correspondence. However, he no longer felt at home in Helsinki, so the 1853 invitation to the post of professor at the Imperial Alexander Lyceum in St Petersburg and tutor to the crown prince was probably most welcome.

Grot secured an appointment as an academic of the Imperial Academy of Science in 1857. After leaving his professorship in St Petersburg five years later, he was able to concentrate on academic research. He studied history, literature and the Russian language, becoming the leading authority on Russian language by the end of the nineteenth century.

The degree of respect for Grot in academic circles is manifest, inter alia, in the fact that he was awarded honorary membership of five Russian universities. He was also a member of countless other Finnish, Russian and foreign academic societies. Grot was awarded an honorary doctorate at the University of Lund in 1880.

References

• Hjalmar Grape, ”En rysk banbrytare för svensk kultur”, Ord och Bild 1922, 268–274.
• Matti Klinge, Grot, Jakov, National biography online publication. Accessed July 30 2015. Available for free via Nelli 8
• Maija Väisänen, Grot, Jakov, Biografiskt lexikon för Finland online publication. Accessed July 30 2015.