As President of the Russian Academy, Dashkova secured his admission into the academy and helped popularize his tragedies and folk songs among the Russian elite. The poet went blind at the age of 20, after which his popularity soared and he came to be sentimentally styled a Russian Milton.
As President of the Russian Academy, Dashkova ensured his admission into the academy and promoted his tragedies and folk songs among the Russian elite. The poet went blind at twenty years old, after which his fame increased significantly and he was affectionately referred to as a Russian Milton.