Born on April 9, 1839. He studied at the boarding school of Count Suzor and the 2nd Saint Petersburg Gymnasium, in 1860 he graduated from the course of Saint Petersburg University as a candidate of historical and philological faculty and for some time taught at the gymnasium of the Human–Loving Society. In the same year he was enlisted in the Foreign Trade Department of the Ministry of Finance. In 1863 he defended his thesis for a master's degree in Russian literature "On the Epics of the Vladimir Cycle", in which he proposed a historical point of view on the origin of epics: he indicated, in particular, that the epics of the Vladimirov cycle are a reflection of the Kiev specific period. After the defense, he did not last long in the Ministry of Finance and in 1864 he moved to the Central Statistical Committee and until 1882 took an active part in its work, as well as in international statistical congresses. Since 1868 – professor at the Saint PetersburgArchaeological Institute. In 1882 he was appointed assistant director of the Imperial Public Library. In 1889 he was elected an academician, in 1893 he was appointed vice president of the Academy of Sciences. By rank of vice president, he was chairman of the Emperor Nicholas II Foundation to assist writers and scholars. A member of the Russian Geographical Society, a member of the Archaeographic Commission, Moscow Archaeological Society. In 1868–1882 he was an assistant editor, in 1882–1890 – editor of the Journal of the Ministry of Education. He began his literary activity as a student; posted a long series of historical and literary articles and reviews in "Domestic Notes", "Dawn", "Russian Herald", "Ancient and New Russia", "Russian Antiquity", "Russian Archive", "Journal of the Ministry of Public Education", "Historical Bulletin", "Russian Philological Bulletin" and others. The most important of them are devoted to Simeon Polotsky, Lomonosov, Vasily Maykov, Sumarokov, Krylov, the history of Russian journalism, the ancient Russian story, the history of Russian superstitions and are collected under the title "Essays from the History of Russian Literature of the 17th and 18th Centuries". Separately published "Materials and Research on Ancient Russian Literature". In 1889, a compilation of works by Konstantin Batyushkov was edited by Leonid Maykov with great care. In 1891, he edited and characterized the collection of critical experiences of his brother Valerian. In his master's thesis, Maikov showed significant scientific independence. In an era of almost undivided domination of the mythological explanation of folk poetry, he put forward a historical point of view on the origin of Russian epics, with which scholars of this dark issue are still reckoned with. In his opinion, the Russian epic is a true echo of Russian historical life, and, in particular, the epics of the Vladimirov cycle, the Kiev specific period. Many heroes of epics – Dobrynya, Alyosha Popovich, Sadko, Ilya Muromets – the author, comparing the annals, considers them to be truly existing; in household details, he indicates traces of the actual historical life of 10th–13th centuries. Epics arose, in his opinion, among the squads. He died on April 20, 1900. He was buried in Saint Petersburg at the Novodevichy Cemetery.
Main works
Leonid Maykov. :File:Майков Л. Н.. Великорусские заклинания..djvu|Great Russian Spells – Saint Petersburg: Maykov's Printing House, 1869, 164 Pages; 2nd Edition, Revised and Amended – Saint Petersburg: Publishing House of the European House, 1994
Leonid Maykov. Batyushkov, His Life and Works. Saint Petersburg: Balashev Printing House, 1887. , 360 Pages; 2nd Edition, Again Revised – Saint Petersburg, 1896
Leonid Maykov. Konstantin Batyushkov. Works: In 3 Volumes / With an Article on the Life and Works of Konstantin Batyushkov Written by Leonid Maykov and Notes Compiled by him and Vladimir Saitov – Saint Petersburg: Pompey Batyushkov, 1885–1887
Leonid Maykov. Essays from the History of Russian Literature of the 17th and 18th Centuries – Saint Petersburg: Alexey Suvorin, 1889, 7
Leonid Maykov. Pushkin: Biographical Materials and Historical and Literary Essays – Saint Petersburg: Longin Panteleev, 1899
Leonid Maykov. Pushkin. Works / Prepared and Provided with Notes by Leonid Maykov – Saint Petersburg: Printing House of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, 1899. Volume 1: Lyric Poems. 20, 296, 421 Pages; 2nd Edition – Saint Petersburg, 1900
Leonid Maykov. Materials for the Academic Publication of the Works of Alexander Pushkin / Collected by Leonid Maykov – Saint Petersburg: Printing House of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, 1902
