Mikhail Glinka
Kukolnik's oeuvre is diverse. He experimented with multiple genres and formats: novels, historical tales, criticism, poetry and even music. He was a friend of Mikhail Glinka, who to set some of Kukolnik's verses ("Hesitation", "Skylark", and "Passing Song", among others) to music. Dizzy from his success, he proclaimed that there were only three geniuses in Russia - himself as a writer, Mikhail Glinka as a composer, and Karl Briullov as a painter.