Alexander Vasilyevich Druzhinin was a renowned Russian writer, literary critic, and translator of the works of Byron and Shakespeare. He was the initiator of the creation of a Society to assist needy writers and scholars.

Coming from a noble family, Druzhinin received a home education and studied at the Page Corps. He served in the Life Guards Finland Regiment, where he befriended the future artist P. A. Fedotov. During this time, he also managed the regimental library and read extensively. Due to poor health and a desire to dedicate himself to literature, in January 1846 he retired with the rank of second lieutenant and in February began working in the office of the Ministry of War.

Druzhinin's literary debut came with the novella "Polinka Saks," which attracted the attention of the public and critics. This work, written in the spirit of George Sand, anticipated the works of I. S. Turgenev and the character images in the works of I. A. Goncharov and A. F. Pisemsky. His next work, "The Tale of Alexei Dmitrievich," touched on themes of the fate of the "superfluous man," family oppression, and self-sacrifice.

Since 1847, Druzhinin published his works in the magazine "Sovremennik." In the editorial circle of this magazine, he was close to D. V. Grigorovich, I. S. Turgenev, P. V. Annenkov, and V. P. Botkin. His ideas about "pure art" influenced L. N. Tolstoy in 1856 and 1858.

From the early 1850s, Druzhinin also collaborated with the magazine "Library for Reading," which he headed in 1856 at the invitation of V. P. Pechatkin. In 1860, he handed over the editorship to A. F. Pisemsky. Druzhinin also worked with the magazines "Fatherland Notes," "Spark," "Russian Herald," and the newspapers "Saint Petersburg Vedomosti" and "Northern Bee." In the "Journal of Horticulture," he published an article on gardening in the Petersburg province, and in 1861 he was co-editor with P. I. Weinberg in the magazine "The Age."

In November 1856, at a dinner at Count G. A. Kushelev-Bezborodko's, Druzhinin proposed creating a Literary Fund modeled after the English Literary Fund. He also wrote an article about the establishment of a Russian literary fund to assist needy writers and scholars. Thanks to his efforts, in 1859, a Society to assist needy writers and scholars was organized in Saint Petersburg, which lasted for about 60 years.

A. V. Druzhinin died of tuberculosis. His death and funeral went almost unnoticed, but his contributions to Russian literature were acknowledged by N. A. Nekrasov in an obituary and I. S. Turgenev in a memorial speech.