Russian anthology by John Bowring as the first attempt at translation of Russian poetry into English

The article is devoted to the first encounter of English readers with Russian poets that happened in 1821-1823 when John Bowring published his Anthology Specimens of the Russian Poets. John Bowring's creative method and principles of translation declared in the Introduction to the Anthology are closely examined alongside with their practical application as seen in Bowring's English version of Derzhavin's ode God. Special consideration is given to the hierarchy of Russian poets as seen by a foreign contemporary.