Originally from
Ukraine, from Little Russian landless nobles of Cossack–senior origin, he studied at the
Kiev–Mogila Academy, then in
Germany. In 1756, he arrived in the capital of the
Russian Empire, the city of
Saint Petersburg, where he worked under the guidance of
Mikhail Lomonosov, taught at the Academic Gymnasium. After the death of Lomonosov, he analyzed his papers, translated some of them into Latin. Published in the magazines "Monthly Essays", "Hard–Working Bee", "All Sorts of Things". In 1765, he was close to the court and became
Catherine the Great's technical assistant, and then assumed the position of her secretary of state. Two years later, he accompanies the empress, along with Count Vladimir Orlov, on a journey along the Volga. In 1773, along with Nikolai Motonis, he acted as the scientific editor of the book "Brief Geographical, Political and Historical News About Little Russia" by Vasily Ruban. Kozitsky's death is described basically in the same way: "having fallen into melancholy, he was in a fit of this illness" on December 21, 1775, inflicted 32 wounds on himself with a knife, from which he died on December 26, 1775. References to the sources of such a description, if any, come down to
Lieutenant Vasiliev's diary for 1774–1777, which, in turn, states that Kozitsky committed suicide on December 26. Regarding the method of suicide, the available sources of the era refer only to rumors. ==Family==