Alexander Pushkin
"It's a lucky man, a very lucky man, who is committed to what he believes, who has stifled intellectual detachment and can relax in the luxury of his emotions - like a tipsy traveller resting for the n"
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin was a renowned Russian poet, playwright, and novelist. He is one of the great writers of the Romantic era, and is widely regarded as Russia’s greatest poet of all time.
His work, Eugene Onegin is often called the founding text of modern Russian literature. It’s the story of a man who moves from St Petersburg to a country estate, gets caught up in a love triangle, and finds himself starring in a tragedy of his own making. Another of Pushkin’s most popular works is Boris Godunov, a drama of high stakes and rich storytelling.
Meet Alexander Pushkin
Alexander Pushkin was born in Moscow in 1799 to Russian nobility. He grew up with French tutors, and therefore mostly spoke French at home.
He went to a prestigious school, and published his first poem at just 15. By the time he graduated, he was already making a name for himself on the literary scene. At the same time, he was taken by the teachings of Voltaire, and was committed to social reform. The government disapproved of his reformist ideas, which led to Pushkin leaving the city.
Pushkin then spent years moving around, writing poetry, and clashing with governments. Eventually, he met with Emperor Nicholas I, Pushkin was released from his Moscow exile but remained under close watch.
In 1831, Pushkin married a young beauty, and the pair became regular faces in Moscow’s high society. Eventually, rumours that his wife was having a love affair led to Pushkin facing off with a man named Georges d’Anthes in a duel. Pushkin was critically wounded in the duel, and died two days later, at the young age of 37.
Despite his short years, Pushkin left a huge legacy for the world of literature. His poem The Bronze Horseman is particularly well loved, as is his drama The Stone Guest. There are even opera’s based on his works, including Ruslan and Lyudmila, Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, and The Queen of Spades.
After his death, he was honoured with numerous works by other poets and authors, the renaming of a town after him, plays, a minor planet, a commemorate rouble coin, statues and monuments, and much more.