To the descendants, Alexander Veltman was remembered as a talented writer who composed many magnificent works. And indeed, he was well given both prose and poetry, but there was another passion in his life – archeology. He also devoted it many years, widely glorifying his name, as they say, in narrow circles.
The Veltman clan came from Estonian lands. The ancestors of the writer even bore a different surname, “Veldman,” but over the years it changed. Alexander Veltman had a personal friendship with the famous A.S. Pushkin. He was married twice. The second cousin became his first wife. When the war broke out between the Russian and Ottoman empires, Alexander Veltman took an active part in it. He met the end of the war with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
It was after the end of the war and the end of his military career that Veltman decided to study literature closely. Alexander Veltman was a member of the Archaeological Society and the Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg. The famous writer Mikhail Zagoskin patronized his literary endeavors, and had a considerable influence on him. Being a multi-talented writer, Alexander Veltman worked in a variety of genres, from poetry to novels.
A tombstone was installed on his grave, copied from the tombstone of Prince Yaroslav the Wise. To this day, the grave of Alexander Veltman has not been preserved. In the troubled times of the 20s of the last century, the cemetery where he was buried was destroyed. Veltman sympathized with the Decembrists. However, he did not take part in their uprising, since at that time he was in another part of the country, which, as it turned out, saved him, since the uprising was crushed. The fame of the writer came to A. Veltman after the publication of the novel The Wanderer, his first large-scale work.
His cartography skills earned him honor and respect during military service, as well as a valuable reward – a diamond-studded ring. Alexander Veltman planned to publish his early work in the form of a collection, but later abandoned this venture, deciding that his early works were not good enough. When he was only 17 years old, Veltman, desperate for money, wrote a good arithmetic textbook, which he sold to publishers, and helped his family with the proceeds.
