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. Resignation and later life in Taganrog In 1857 Nestor Kukolnik resigned and settled in Taganrog. There he continued his literary activity, but the public work played the key role of his life in that period. Nestor Vasilievich did a lot of work for education of Taganrog's society. It had an influence on the destiny of the city, making it into the centre of education in the South of Russia. Nestor Kukolnik was the first to prove the need of university education in the Don Voisko Province and on Azov Sea. His offer to open a university in Taganrog was not successful, but later it proved to be an important foundation for opening the Novorossiya University in Odessa (1865). Kukolnik also proved necessity of local newspapers. It was one of the reasons to open newspaper-publishing houses not only in Taganrog, but also in Odessa and Rostov on Don. Since 1865 Nestor Kukolnik led the workgroup that proved necessity of a railroad line from Kharkov to Taganrog. This work was a success and the Tsar Alexander II of Russia approved the project in 1868. He also was the first to raise the issue of environmental protection of the Gulf of Taganrog. But the related project encountered strong resistance from regional leadership and was not realized. Nestor Vasilievich assisted in opening the county court in Taganrog, open soon after his death in 1869. Kukolnik died unexpectedly in Taganrog on December 8, 1868, when he and his wife were getting ready to go to the theatre. The writer was buried in Taganrog in his own estate. In 1931 the remains of Nestor Kukolnik and his wife were defiled. Searching for jewelry, robbers opened the graves and threw away the remains. Unfortunately, it was not the only case of violation. In 1966 the city administration signed a decree and allowed the Public Joint-Stock Company “The Taganrog Boiler-Making Works “Krasny Kotelshchik” to build additional industrial areas on the territory of Kukolnik's estate. All the works started two years later, in 1968. Bulldozers razed to the ground Kukolnik's house and mixed his grave with