Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич Пушкин
[In pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written .], r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, a=ru-Pushkin.ogg; ) was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the
Romantic era.
[Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005.] He is considered by many to be the greatest Russian poet
[Short biography from University of Virginia](_blank)
. Retrieved 24 November 2006.[Allan Reid, "Russia's Greatest Poet/Scoundrel"](_blank)
Retrieved 2 September 2006. and the founder of modern
Russian literature.
[Maxim Gorky]
"Pushkin, An Appraisal"
Retrieved 1 September 2006.
Pushkin was born into the
Russian nobility
The Russian nobility (russian: дворянство ''dvoryanstvo'') originated in the 14th century. In 1914 it consisted of approximately 1,900,000 members (about 1.1% of the population) in the Russian Empire.
Up until the February Revolutio ...
in Moscow. His father, Sergey Lvovich Pushkin, belonged to an old noble family. His maternal great-grandfather was Major-General
Abram Petrovich Gannibal
Abram Petrovich Gannibal, also Hannibal or Ganibal, or Abram Hannibal or Abram Petrov ( ru , Абра́м Петро́вич Ганниба́л; c. 1696 – 14 May 1781), was a Russian military engineer, general-in-chief, and nobleman of Africa ...
, a nobleman of African origin who was kidnapped from his homeland and raised in the Emperor's court household as his godson.
He published his first poem at the age of 15, and was widely recognized by the literary establishment by the time of his graduation from the
Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. Upon graduation from the Lycée, Pushkin recited his controversial poem "
Ode to Liberty", one of several that led to his exile by Emperor
Alexander I Alexander I may refer to:
* Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC
* Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus
* Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome
* Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...
. While under the strict surveillance of the
Emperor's political police and unable to publish, Pushkin wrote his most famous play, the drama ''
Boris Godunov''. His novel in verse, ''
Eugene Onegin
''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Евгений Оне́гин, ромáн в стихáх, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈnʲeɡʲɪn, r=Yevgeniy Onegin, roman v stikhakh) is ...
'', was serialized between 1825 and 1832.
Pushkin was fatally wounded in a
duel with his wife's alleged lover and her sister's husband
Georges-Charles de Heeckeren d'Anthès
Baron Georges-Charles de Heeckeren d'Anthès (born Georges-Charles d'Anthès; 5 February 1812 – 2 November 1895) was a French military officer and politician. Despite his later career as a senator under the Second French Empire, D'Anthès ...
, also known as Dantes-Gekkern, a French officer serving with the
Chevalier Guard Regiment
The Chevalier Guard Regiment (russian: Кавалергардский полк, Kavalergardskiy polk) was a Russian heavy cavalry guard regiment, created in 1800 by the reformation of the Chevalier Guard corps, itself created in 1764 by Catherin ...
.
Ancestry
![PuschkinSL](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/PuschkinSL.JPG)
Pushkin's father, Sergei Lvovich Pushkin (1767–1848), was descended from a distinguished family of the Russian nobility that traced its ancestry back to the 12th century.
[Н.К. Телетова .K. Teletova(2007).] Pushkin's mother, Nadezhda (Nadya) Ossipovna Gannibal (1775–1836), was descended through her paternal grandmother from
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
and
Scandinavian nobility.
She was the daughter of Ossip Abramovich Gannibal (1744–1807) and his wife, Maria Alekseyevna Pushkina (1745–1818).
Ossip Abramovich Gannibal's father, Pushkin's great-grandfather, was
Abram Petrovich Gannibal
Abram Petrovich Gannibal, also Hannibal or Ganibal, or Abram Hannibal or Abram Petrov ( ru , Абра́м Петро́вич Ганниба́л; c. 1696 – 14 May 1781), was a Russian military engineer, general-in-chief, and nobleman of Africa ...
(1696–1781), an African
page
Page most commonly refers to:
* Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book
Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to:
Roles
* Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation
* Page (servant), traditionally a young m ...
kidnapped to
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
as a gift to the
Ottoman Sultan and later transferred to Russia as a gift for
Peter the Great
Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
. Abram wrote in a letter to Empress Elizabeth, Peter the Great's daughter, that Gannibal was from the town of "Lagon". Largely on the basis of a mythical biography by Gannibal's son-in-law Rotkirkh, some historians concluded from this that Gannibal was born in a village called Geza-Lamza in the
Seraye
The Provinces of Eritrea existed between Eritrea's incorporation as a colony of Italy until the conversion of the provinces into administrative regions.
Overview
In Italian Eritrea, the Italian colonial administration had divided the colony into ...
province of
Mdre Bahri
Medri Bahri ( ti, ምድሪ ባሕሪ, English: Land of the Sea Kingdom), also known as Mereb Melash, was an Eritrean kingdom emerged in 1137 until conquest by the Ethiopian Empire in 1879. It was situated in modern-day Eritrea, and was ruled b ...
kingdom in today's
Eritrea
Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
.
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (russian: link=no, Владимир Владимирович Набоков ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian-American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Bo ...
, when researching ''
Eugene Onegin
''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Евгений Оне́гин, ромáн в стихáх, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈnʲeɡʲɪn, r=Yevgeniy Onegin, roman v stikhakh) is ...
'', cast serious doubt on this origin theory. Later research by the scholars
Dieudonné Gnammankou and
Hugh Barnes
Hugh Barnes (born 1963) is a journalist and specialist on Russian matters. Born in London, he was educated at Oxford and Cambridge universities. He covered the wars in Kosovo and Afghanistan for various newspapers in the UK and abroad. He has als ...
eventually conclusively established that Gannibal was instead born in Central Africa, in an area bordering
Lake Chad
Lake Chad (french: Lac Tchad) is a historically large, shallow, endorheic lake in Central Africa, which has varied in size over the centuries. According to the ''Global Resource Information Database'' of the United Nations Environment Programme, ...
in modern-day
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
.
After education in France as a
military engineer
Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics ...
, Gannibal became governor of
Reval
Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ''m ...
and eventually
Général en Chef (the third most senior army rank) in charge of the building of sea forts and canals in Russia.
Early life
Born in Moscow, Pushkin was entrusted to nursemaids and French tutors, and spoke mostly French until the age of ten. He became acquainted with the Russian language through communication with household serfs and his nanny, Arina Rodionovna, whom he loved dearly and to whom he was more attached than to his own mother.
He published his first poem at the age of 15. When he finished school, as part of the first graduating class of the prestigious
Imperial Lyceum in
Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo ( rus, Ца́рское Село́, p=ˈtsarskəɪ sʲɪˈlo, a=Ru_Tsarskoye_Selo.ogg, "Tsar's Village") was the town containing a former residence of the Russian imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the c ...
, near Saint Petersburg, his talent was already widely recognized on the Russian literary scene. At the Lyceum, he was a student of David Mara, known in Russia as , a younger brother of French revolutionary
Jean-Paul Marat
Jean-Paul Marat (; born Mara; 24 May 1743 – 13 July 1793) was a French political theorist, physician, and scientist. A journalist and politician during the French Revolution, he was a vigorous defender of the ''sans-culottes'', a radical ...
.
At After school, Pushkin plunged into the vibrant and raucous intellectual youth culture of St. Petersburg, which was then the capital of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
. In 1820, he published his first long poem, ''
Ruslan and Ludmila Ruslan may refer to:
* ''Ruslan'' (film), a 2009 film starring Steven Segal
* Ruslan (given name), male name used mainly in Slavic countries, with list of people
* Antonov An-124 ''Ruslan'', large Soviet cargo aircraft, later built in Ukraine and ...
'', with much controversy about its subject and style.
Social activism
While at the Lyceum, Pushkin was heavily influenced by the Kantian
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
individualist teachings of Alexander Petrovich Kunitsyn, whom Pushkin would later commemorate in his poem ''19 October''. Pushkin also immersed himself in the thought of the French
Enlightenment, to which he would remain permanently indebted throughout his life, especially
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
, whom he described as "the first to follow the new road, and to bring the lamp of philosophy into the dark archives of history".
Pushkin gradually became committed to social reform, and emerged as a spokesman for literary radicals. That angered the government and led to his transfer from the capital in May 1820. He went to the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
and to
Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
and then to
Kamianka and
Chișinău in
Bessarabia, where he became a
Freemason.
He joined the
Filiki Eteria
Filiki Eteria or Society of Friends ( el, Φιλικὴ Ἑταιρεία ''or'' ) was a secret organization founded in 1814 in Odessa, whose purpose was to overthrow the Ottoman rule of Greece and establish an independent Greek state. (''ret ...
, a secret organization whose purpose was to overthrow
Ottoman rule in Greece and establish an independent Greek state. He was inspired by the
Greek Revolution
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted b ...
and when the war against the Ottoman Empire broke out, he kept a diary recording the events of the national uprising.
Rise
![Анна Петровна Керн](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/%D0%90%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%9F%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%9A%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BD.jpg)
He stayed in Chișinău until 1823 and wrote two
Romantic poems, which brought him acclaim: ''The Captive of the Caucasus'' and ''
The Fountain of Bakhchisaray
''The Fountain of Bakhchisaray'' (russian: «Бахчисарайский фонтан», ''Bakhchisaraiskiy fontan'') is a poem by Alexander Pushkin, written during the years 1821 to 1823.
Pushkin began writing ''The Fountain of Bakhchisa ...
''. In 1823, Pushkin moved to
Odessa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
, where he again clashed with the government, which sent him into exile on his mother's rural estate of
Mikhailovskoye, near
Pskov, from 1824 to 1826.
In Mikhaylovskoye, Pushkin wrote nostalgic love poems which he dedicated to Elizaveta Vorontsova, wife of
Malorossia
Little Russia (russian: Малороссия/Малая Россия, Malaya Rossiya/Malorossiya; uk, Малоросія/Мала Росія, Malorosiia/Mala Rosiia), also known in English as Malorussia, Little Rus' (russian: Малая Ру ...
's
General-Governor
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
. Then Pushkin worked on his verse-novel ''Eugene Onegin''.
In Mikhaylovskoye, in 1825, Pushkin wrote the poem ''To***''. It is generally believed that he dedicated this poem to
Anna Kern, but there are other opinions. Poet Mikhail Dudin believed that the poem was dedicated to the serf Olga Kalashnikova.
[Vadim Nikolayev. To whom «Magic Moment» has been dedicated?]
Pushkinist Kira Victorova believed that the poem was dedicated to the Empress Elizaveta Alekseyevna. Vadim Nikolayev argued that the idea about the Empress was marginal and refused to discuss it, while trying to prove that poem had been dedicated to Tatyana Larina, the heroine of ''Eugene Onegin''.
Authorities summoned Pushkin to Moscow after his poem "
Ode to Liberty" was found among the belongings of the rebels from the
Decembrist Uprising
The Decembrist Revolt ( ru , Восстание декабристов, translit = Vosstaniye dekabristov , translation = Uprising of the Decembrists) took place in Russia on , during the interregnum following the sudden death of Emperor Ale ...
(1825). After his exile in 1820,
Pushkin's friends and family continually petitioned for his release, sending letters and meeting with
Emperor Alexander I
Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.
The son of Gra ...
and then
Emperor Nicholas I
, house = Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp
, father = Paul I of Russia
, mother = Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg)
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Gatchina Palace, Gatchina, Russian Empire
, death_date ...
on the heels of the Decembrist Uprising. Upon meeting with
Emperor Nicholas I
, house = Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp
, father = Paul I of Russia
, mother = Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg)
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Gatchina Palace, Gatchina, Russian Empire
, death_date ...
, Pushkin obtained his release from exile and began to work as the emperor's Titular Counsel of the National Archives. However, because insurgents in the Decembrist Uprising (1825) in Saint Petersburg had kept some of Pushkin's earlier political poems, the emperor retained strict control of everything Pushkin published and he was banned from travelling at will.
During that same year (1825), Pushkin also wrote what would become his most famous play, the drama ''
Boris Godunov'', while at his mother's estate. He could not however, gain permission to publish it until five years later. The original and uncensored version of the drama was not staged until 2007.
Around 1825–1829 he met and befriended the Polish poet
Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (; 24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. A principal figure in Polish Ro ...
, during exile in central Russia.
Kazimierz Wyka
Kazimierz Wyka (19 March 1910 – 19 January 1975) was a Polish literary historian, literary critic, and professor at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków following World War II. He was a deputy to the Polish parliament (Sejm) from 1952 to 1956 ...
, ''Mickiewicz Adam Bernard'', Polski Słownik Biograficzny, Tome XX, 1975, p. 696 In 1829 he travelled through the Caucasus to
Erzurum
Erzurum (; ) is a city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010.
The city uses the double-headed eagle as ...
to visit friends fighting in the Russian army during the
Russo-Turkish War
The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histo ...
. In the end of 1829 Pushkin wanted to set off on a journey abroad, the desire reflected in his poem ''Let's go, I'm ready''. He applied for permission for the journey, but received negative response from
Nicholas I, on 17 January 1830.
Around 1828, Pushkin met
Natalia Goncharova
Natalia Sergeevna Goncharova (russian: Ната́лья Серге́евна Гончаро́ва, p=nɐˈtalʲjə sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvnə ɡənʲtɕɪˈrovə; 3 July 188117 October 1962) was a Russian avant-garde artist, painter, costume designe ...
, then 16 years old and one of the most talked-about beauties of Moscow. After much hesitation, Natalia accepted a proposal of marriage from Pushkin in April 1830, but not before she received assurances that the Tsarist government had no intentions to persecute the libertarian poet. Later, Pushkin and his wife became regulars of court society. They officially became engaged on 6 May 1830, and sent out wedding invitations. Due to an outbreak of
cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
and other circumstances, the wedding was delayed for a year. The ceremony took place on 18 February 1831 (Old Style) in the
Great Ascension Church
The Greater Church of Christ's Ascension (Большое Вознесение) is one of the largest parish churches in downtown Moscow. It is a major landmark of Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street and Nikitskiye Vorota Square. It is named "greater" to ...
on
Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street in Moscow.
When the Emperor gave Pushkin the lowest court title, Gentleman of the Chamber, the poet became enraged, feeling that the Emperor intended to humiliate him by implying that Pushkin was being admitted to court not on his own merits but solely so that his wife, who had many admirers including the Emperor himself, could properly attend court balls. Pushkin's marriage to Goncharova was largely a happy one, but his wife’s characteristic flirtatiousness and frivolity would lead to his fatal duel seven years later, for Pushkin had a highly jealous temperament.
![D'Anthès](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/D%27Anth%C3%A8s.jpg)
In 1831, during the period of Pushkin's growing literary influence, he met one of Russia's other great early writers,
Nikolai Gogol
Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...
. After reading Gogol's 1831–1832 volume of short stories ''
Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka
''Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka'' (russian: «Вечера на хуторе близ Диканьки») is a collection of short stories by Nikolai Gogol, written in 1829–1832. They appeared in various magazines and were published in book f ...
'', Pushkin supported him and would feature some of Gogol's most famous short stories in the magazine ''
The Contemporary'', which he founded in 1836.
Death
By the autumn of 1836, Pushkin was falling into greater and greater debt and faced scandalous rumours that his wife was having a love affair. On 4 November he sent a challenge to a duel to
Georges d'Anthès Georges may refer to:
Places
* Georges River, New South Wales, Australia
* Georges Quay (Dublin)
*Georges Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Other uses
*Georges (name)
* ''Georges'' (novel), a novel by Alexandre Dumas
* "Georges" (song), a 19 ...
, also known as Dantes-Gekkern.
Jacob van Heeckeren, d'Anthès' adoptive father, asked that the duel be delayed by two weeks. With efforts by the poet's friends, the duel was cancelled.
On 17 November d'Anthès made a proposal to Natalia Goncharova's sister Ekaterina Goncharova. The marriage did not resolve the conflict. Georges d'Anthès continued to pursue Natalia Goncharova in public, and rumours that d'Anthès had married Natalia's sister just to save her reputation circulated.
On 26 January (7 February in the Gregorian calendar) of 1837, Pushkin sent a "highly insulting letter" to Gekkern. The only answer to that letter could be a challenge to a duel, as Pushkin knew. Pushkin received the formal challenge to a duel through his sister-in-law, Ekaterina Gekkerna, approved by d'Anthès, on the same day through the attaché of the French Embassy, Viscount d'Archiac.
Pushkin asked
Arthur Magenis, then attaché to the
British Consulate-General in Saint Petersburg, to be his second. Magenis did not formally accept, but on 26 January (7 February), approached Viscount d'Archiac to attempt a reconciliation; however, d'Archiac refused to speak with him as he was not yet officially Pushkin's second. Magenis, unable to find Pushkin in the evening, sent him a letter through a messenger at 2 o'clock in the morning, declining to be his second as the possibility of a peaceful settlement had already been quashed, and the traditional first task of the second was to try to bring about a reconciliation.
The pistol duel with d'Anthès took place on 27 January (8 February) at the
Black River, without the presence of a second for Pushkin. The duel they fought was of a kind known as a ''barrier duel''.
[This was coincidentally the same form of duel as the one depicted in ''Eugene Oengin'', see Hopton (2011)] The rules of this type dictated that the duellists began at an agreed distance. After the signal to begin, they walked towards each other, closing the distance. They could fire at any time they wished, but the duellist that shot first was required to stand still and wait for the other to shoot back at his leisure.
D'Anthès fired first, critically wounding Pushkin; the bullet entered at his hip and penetrated his abdomen. D'Anthès was only lightly wounded in the right arm by Pushkin's shot. Two days later, on 29 January (10 February) at 14:45, Pushkin died of
peritonitis
Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and cover of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One part or ...
.
At Pushkin's wife's request, he was put in the coffin in evening dress, not in chamber-cadet uniform, the uniform provided by the emperor. The funeral service was initially assigned to the St. Isaac's Cathedral, but was moved to Konyushennaya church. Many people attended. After the funeral, the coffin was lowered into the basement, where it stayed until 3 February, when it was removed to Pskov province. Alexander Pushkin was buried on the grounds of the Svyatogorsky monastery in present-day
Pushkinskiye Gory
Pushkinskiye Gory (russian: Пушкинские Горы) is an urban locality (a work settlement) and the administrative center of Pushkinogorsky District of Pskov Oblast, Russia. Municipally, it is incorporated as Pushkinogorye Urban Settle ...
, near Pskov, beside his mother. His last home is now a
museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
.
Descendants
Pushkin had four children from his marriage to Natalia: Maria (b. 1832), Alexander (b. 1833), Grigory (b. 1835) and Natalia (b. 1836), the last of whom married
morganatically
Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spou ...
with
Prince Nikolaus Wilhelm of Nassau
Prince Nikolaus Wilhelm of Nassau (20 September 1832 – 17 September 1905), was the only son of William, Duke of Nassau by his second wife Princess Pauline of Württemberg.
Marriage and issue
He married morganatically in London on 1 July 1868 w ...
of the
House of Nassau-Weilburg
The House of Nassau-Weilburg, a branch of the House of Nassau, ruled a division of the County of Nassau, which was a state in what is now Germany, then part of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1344 to 1806.
On 17 July 1806, upon the dissolution of ...
and was granted the title of
Countess of Merenberg. Her daughter
Sophie married
Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia
Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia (Russian: Михаил Михайлович; 16 October 1861 – 26 April 1929) was a son of Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia and a grandson of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia.
He was raised in the ...
a grandson of Emperor
Nicholas I.
Only the lines of Alexander and Natalia still remain. Natalia's granddaughter,
Nadejda, married into the extended British royal family, her husband was the uncle of
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...
, and is the grandmother of the present
Marquess of Milford Haven
Marquess of Milford Haven is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
History
The marquessate of Milford Haven was created in 1917 for Prince Louis of Battenberg, the former First Sea Lord, and a relation by marriage to the British Royal ...
. Descendants of the poet now live around the globe in the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the United States.
Legacy
Literary
Critics consider many of his works masterpieces, such as the poem ''
The Bronze Horseman
The ''Bronze Horseman'' (russian: link=no, Медный всадник, literally "copper horseman") is an equestrian statue of Peter the Great in the Senate Square in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was opened to the public on 7 (18) August ...
'' and the drama ''
The Stone Guest'', a tale of the fall of
Don Juan
Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni ( Italian), is a legendary, fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. Famous versions of the story include a 17th-century play, ''El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra'' ...
. His poetic short drama ''
Mozart and Salieri'' (like ''The Stone Guest'', one of the so-called four ''Little Tragedies'', a collective characterization by Pushkin himself in 1830 letter to
Pyotr Pletnyov
Pyotr Alexandrovich Pletnyov (russian: Пётр Александрович Плетнёв; , Tebleshi, Tver Governorate — ) was a minor Russian poet and literary critic, who rose to become the dean of the Saint Petersburg University (1840 ...
) was the inspiration for
Peter Shaffer
Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (; 15 May 1926 – 6 June 2016) was an English playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He wrote numerous award-winning plays, of which several were adapted into films.
Early life
Shaffer was born to a Jewish family in L ...
's ''
Amadeus
Amadeus may refer to:
*Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), prolific and influential composer of classical music
*Amadeus (name), a given name and people with the name
* ''Amadeus'' (play), 1979 stage play by Peter Shaffer
* ''Amadeus'' (film), ...
'' as well as providing the libretto (almost verbatim) to
Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...
's opera ''
Mozart and Salieri''.
Pushkin is also known for his short stories. In particular his cycle ''
The Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin
''The Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin'' (russian: «По́вести поко́йного Ива́на Петро́вича Бе́лкина», 1831) is a series of five short stories and a fictional editorial introduction by Russian autho ...
'', including "
The Shot
The Shot was a basketball play that occurred during a 1989 playoff game between the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It took place on May 7, 1989 at Richfield Coliseum in Richfield Township, ...
", were well received. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas,
"the narrative logic and the plausibility of that which is narrated, together with the precision, conciseness – economy of the presentation of reality – all of the above is achieved in ''Tales of Belkin'', especially, and most of all in the story ''The Stationmaster''. Pushkin is the progenitor of the long and fruitful development of Russian realist literature, for he manages to attain the realist ideal of a concise presentation of reality".
Pushkin himself preferred his verse novel ''
Eugene Onegin
''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Евгений Оне́гин, ромáн в стихáх, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈnʲeɡʲɪn, r=Yevgeniy Onegin, roman v stikhakh) is ...
'', which he wrote over the course of his life and which, starting a tradition of great Russian novels, follows a few central characters but varies widely in tone and focus.
''Onegin'' is a work of such complexity that, though it is only about a hundred pages long, translator
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (russian: link=no, Владимир Владимирович Набоков ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian-American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Bo ...
needed two full volumes of material to fully render its meaning in English. Because of this difficulty in translation, Pushkin's verse remains largely unknown to English readers. Even so, Pushkin has profoundly influenced western writers like
Henry James
Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...
.
[Joseph S. O'Leary, ”Pushkin in 'The Aspern Papers”. ''The Henry James E-Journal'' Number 2, March 2000](_blank)
. Retrieved 24 November 2006.
Pushkin wrote "
The Queen of Spades", a short story frequently anthologized in English translation.
Musical
Pushkin's works also provided fertile ground for Russian composers.
Glinka's ''
Ruslan and Lyudmila Ruslan may refer to:
* ''Ruslan'' (film), a 2009 film starring Steven Segal
* Ruslan (given name), male name used mainly in Slavic countries, with list of people
* Antonov An-124 ''Ruslan'', large Soviet cargo aircraft, later built in Ukraine and ...
'' is the earliest important Pushkin-inspired opera, and a landmark in the tradition of Russian music.
Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
's operas ''
Eugene Onegin
''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Евгений Оне́гин, ромáн в стихáх, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈnʲeɡʲɪn, r=Yevgeniy Onegin, roman v stikhakh) is ...
'' (1879) and ''
The Queen of Spades'' (''Pikovaya Dama'', 1890) became perhaps better known outside of Russia than Pushkin's own works of the same name.
Mussorgsky
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...
's monumental ''
Boris Godunov'' (two versions, 1868–9 and 1871–2) ranks as one of the very finest and most original of Russian operas.
Other Russian operas based on Pushkin include
Dargomyzhsky
Alexander Sergeyevich Dargomyzhsky ( rus, link=no, Александр Сергеевич Даргомыжский, Aleksandr Sergeyevich Dargomyzhskiy., ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪdʑ dərɡɐˈmɨʂskʲɪj, Ru-Aleksandr-Sergeevich- ...
's ''
Rusalka'' and ''
The Stone Guest'';
Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...
's ''
Mozart and Salieri'', ''
Tale of Tsar Saltan'', and ''
The Golden Cockerel
''The Golden Cockerel'' ( rus, Золотой петушок, Zolotoy petushok ) is an opera in three acts, with short prologue and even shorter epilogue, composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, his last opera he completed before his death in 1908. ...
'';
Cui's ''
Prisoner of the Caucasus'', ''
Feast in Time of Plague'', and ''
The Captain's Daughter
''The Captain's Daughter'' (russian: «Капитанская дочка», Kapitanskaya dochka) is a historical novel by the Russian writer Alexander Pushkin. It was first published in 1836 in the fourth issue of the literary journal '' Sovrem ...
'';
Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
's ''
Mazeppa'';
Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...
's one-act operas ''
Aleko
The Moskvitch-2141, also known under the trade name Aleko ( Russian: "АЛЕКО", derivative from the name of the automaker "Автомобильный завод имени Ленинского Комсомола", ''Avtomobilny zavod imeni Len ...
'' (based on ''The Gypsies'') and ''
The Miserly Knight
''The Miserly Knight'', Op. 24, also ''The Covetous Knight'' (russian: Скупой рыцарь, ''Skupój rýtsar’''), is a Russian opera in one act with music by Sergei Rachmaninoff, with the libretto based on Alexander Pushkin's drama of the ...
'';
Stravinsky's ''
Mavra
''Mavra'' is a one-act comic opera composed by Igor Stravinsky, and one of the earliest works of Stravinsky's neo-classical period. The libretto, by Boris Kochno, is based on Alexander Pushkin's ''The Little House in Kolomna''. Mavra is about ...
'', and
Nápravník's ''
Dubrovsky''.
Additionally, ballets and
cantatas, as well as innumerable
songs
A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...
, have been set to Pushkin's verse (including even his French-language poems, in
Isabelle Aboulker
Isabelle Aboulker (born 23 October 1938) is a French composer, particularly known for her operas and other vocal works. In 1999, she gained a prize from the Académie des Beaux-Arts and in 2000 the music prize of the Société des Auteurs et Compo ...
's
song cycle
A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online''
The songs are either for solo voice ...
"
Caprice étrange").
Suppé,
Leoncavallo
Ruggero (or Ruggiero) Leoncavallo ( , , ; 23 April 18579 August 1919) was an Italian opera composer and librettist. Although he produced numerous operas and other songs throughout his career it is his opera '' Pagliacci'' (1892) that remained h ...
and
Malipiero have also based operas on his works. Composers
Galina Konstantinovna Smirnova
Galina Konstantinovna Smirnova (January 20, 1910 - 1980) was a Russian composer, musicologist, and radio music editor who used folk songs in her compositions and composed at least one film score.
Smirnova was born in Moscow. She studied at the Mo ...
,
Yevgania Yosifovna Yakhina,
Maria Semyonovna Zavalishina,
Zinaida Petrovna Ziberova
Zinaida Petrovna Ziberova (born 1909) was a pianist, conductor, and composer who was born in Darmstadt, Germany, and lived most of her life in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Ziberova moved to Rostov-on-Don in 1925, where she attended music school and stud ...
composed folk songs using Pushkin's text.
''The Desire of Glory'', which has been dedicated to Elizaveta Vorontsova, was set to music by
David Tukhmanov
David Fyodorovich Tukhmanov PAR (russian: Дави́д Фёдорович Тухма́нов, was born on July 20, 1940, in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union) is a Soviet and Russian composer. People's Artist of Russia (2000), State Prize of R ...
), as well as ''Keep Me, Mine Talisman'' – by
Alexander Barykin
Aleksander Aleksandrovich Barykin (Byrykin) (russian: Александр Александрович Барыкин (Бырыкин); February 18, 1952 — March 26, 2011) was a Soviet and Russian singer and songwriter.
Biography
Alexander Baryki ...
) and later by Tukhmanov.
Romanticism
Pushkin is considered by many to be the central representative of Romanticism in Russian literature although he was not unequivocally known as a Romantic. Russian critics have traditionally argued that his works represent a path from
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...
through Romanticism to
Realism
Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to:
In the arts
*Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts
Arts movements related to realism include:
*Classical Realism
*Literary realism, a move ...
. An alternative assessment suggests that "he had an ability to entertain contrarities which may seem Romantic in origin, but are ultimately subversive of all fixed points of view, all single outlooks, including the Romantic" and that "he is simultaneously Romantic and not Romantic".
[
]
Russian literature
Pushkin is usually credited with developing Russian literature. He is seen as having originated the highly nuanced level of language which characterizes Russian literature after him, and he is also credited with substantially augmenting the Russian lexicon. Whenever he found gaps in the Russian vocabulary, he devised calque
In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language wh ...
s. His rich vocabulary and highly-sensitive style are the foundation for modern Russian literature. His accomplishments set new records for development of the Russian language and culture. He became the father of Russian literature in the 19th century, marking the highest achievements of the 18th century and the beginning of literary process of the 19th century. He introduced Russia to all the European literary genres as well as a great number of West European writers. He brought natural speech and foreign influences to create modern poetic Russian. Though his life was brief, he left examples of nearly every literary genre of his day: lyric poetry, narrative poetry, the novel, the short story, the drama, the critical essay and even the personal letter.
According to Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (russian: link=no, Владимир Владимирович Набоков ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian-American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Bo ...
, Pushkin's idiom
An idiom is a phrase or expression that typically presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase; but some phrases become figurative idioms while retaining the literal meaning of the phrase. Categorized as formulaic language, ...
combined all the contemporaneous elements of Russian with all he had learned from Derzhavin, Zhukovsky, Batyushkov, Karamzin Karamzin (russian: Карамзин) is a Russian masculine surname, its feminine counterpart is Karamzina. It originates from the Tatar surname Kara-Murza, meaning ''black lord'', and may refer to
*Aurora Karamzin (1808–1902), Finnish-Swede phil ...
and Krylov:
# The poetical and metaphysical
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...
strain that still lived in Church Slavonic forms and locutions
# Abundant and natural gallicism
A Gallicism can be:
* a mode of speech peculiar to the French;
* a French idiom;
* in general, a French mode or custom.
* a loanword, word or phrase borrowed from French.
See also
* Francization
* Franglais
* Gallic (disambiguation)
* Gallican R ...
s
# Everyday colloquialism
Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the style (sociolinguistics), linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom norm ...
s of his set
# Stylized popular speech by combining the famous three styles (low, medium elevation, high) dear to the pseudoclassical archaists and adding the ingredients of Russian romanticists with a pinch of parody
A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...
.
His work as a critic and as a journalist marked the birth of Russian magazine culture which included him devising and contributing heavily to one of the most influential literary magazines of the 19th century, the ''Sovremennik'' (''The Contemporary'', or ''Современник''). Pushkin inspired the folk tales and genre pieces of other authors: Leskov, Yesenin
Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin ( rus, Сергей Александрович Есенин, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ jɪˈsʲenʲɪn; ( 1895 – 28 December 1925), sometimes spelled as Esenin, was a Russian lyric poet. He is one o ...
and Gorky. His use of Russian formed the basis of the style of novelists Ivan Turgenev
Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (; rus, links=no, Ива́н Серге́евич Турге́невIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; 9 November 1818 – 3 September 1883 (Old Style dat ...
, Ivan Goncharov
Ivan Alexandrovich Goncharov (, also ; rus, Ива́н Алекса́ндрович Гончаро́в, r=Iván Aleksándrovich Goncharóv, p=ɪˈvan ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪdʑ ɡənʲtɕɪˈrof; – ) was a Russian novelist best known for his ...
and Leo Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
, as well as that of subsequent lyric poets such as Mikhail Lermontov
Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (; russian: Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjurʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲɛrməntəf; – ) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucas ...
. Pushkin was analysed by Nikolai Gogol
Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...
, his successor and pupil, and the great Russian critic Vissarion Belinsky
Vissarion Grigoryevich Belinsky ( rus, Виссарион Григорьевич БелинскийIn Belinsky's day, his name was written ., Vissarión Grigórʹjevič Belínskij, vʲɪsərʲɪˈon ɡrʲɪˈɡorʲjɪvʲɪdʑ bʲɪˈlʲinskʲ ...
, who produced the fullest and deepest critical study of Pushkin's work, which still retains much of its relevance.
Soviet centennial celebrations
The centennial year of Pushkin's death, 1937, was one of the most significant Soviet-era literary centennials in Stalinist Russia, rivaled only by the 1928 centennial commemorating Leo Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
's birth. Despite the public display of visage on ever present billboards and candy wrappers, Pushkin's "image" conflicted with that of the ideal Soviet (he was reputed as a libertine with unrepentant aristocratic tendencies) and was subject to a repressive revisionism, similar to the Stalinist state's clean up of Tolstoy's Christian anarchism.
Honours
*Shortly after Pushkin's death, contemporary Russian romantic poet Mikhail Lermontov
Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (; russian: Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjurʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲɛrməntəf; – ) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucas ...
wrote "Death of the Poet
"Death of the Poet" (russian: Смерть Поэта) is an 1837 poem by Mikhail Lermontov, written in reaction to the death of Alexander Pushkin.
Pushkin was mortally wounded in a duel on January 27, 1837, and died on the 29th. Lermontov began ...
". The poem, which ended with a passage blaming the aristocracy being (as oppressors of freedom) the true culprits in Pushkin's death, was not published (nor could have been) but was informally circulated in St. Petersburg. Lermontov was arrested and exiled to a regiment in the Caucasus.
*Montenegrin poet and ruler Petar II Petrović-Njegoš
Petar II Petrović-Njegoš ( sr-cyrl, Петар II Петровић-Његош, ; – ), commonly referred to simply as Njegoš (), was a Prince-Bishop (''vladika'') of Montenegro, poet and philosopher whose works are widely considered ...
included in his 1846 poetry collection ''Ogledalo srpsko'' (The Serbian Mirror) a poetic ode to Pushkin, titled ''Sjeni Aleksandra Puškina''.
*In 1929, Soviet writer, Leonid Grossman, published a novel, ''The d'Archiac Papers'', telling the story of Pushkin's death from the perspective of a French diplomat, being a participant and a witness of the fatal duel. The book describes him as a liberal and a victim of the Tsarist regime. In Poland the book was published under the title ''Death of the Poet''.
*In 1937, the town of Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo ( rus, Ца́рское Село́, p=ˈtsarskəɪ sʲɪˈlo, a=Ru_Tsarskoye_Selo.ogg, "Tsar's Village") was the town containing a former residence of the Russian imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the c ...
was renamed Pushkin in his honour.
*There are several museums in Russia dedicated to Pushkin, including two in Moscow, one in Saint Petersburg, and a large complex in Mikhaylovskoye.
*Pushkin's death was portrayed in the 2006 biographical film ''Pushkin: The Last Duel''. The film was directed by Natalya Bondarchuk
Natalya Sergeyevna Bondarchuk (russian: Наталья Серге́евна Бондарчук) (born 10 May 1950) is a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russian actress and film director, best known for her appearance in Andrei Tarkovsky's ''Solaris (1972 ...
. Pushkin was portrayed on screen by Sergei Bezrukov
Sergey Vitalyevich Bezrukov (russian: link=no, Серге́й Вита́льевич Безру́ков, born 18 October 1973) is a Soviet and Russian film and stage actor, singer, People's Artist of Russia, the laureate of the State Prize of th ...
.
*The Pushkin Trust was established in 1987 by the Duchess of Abercorn to commemorate the creative legacy and spirit of her ancestor and to release the creativity and imagination of the children of Ireland by providing them with opportunities to communicate their thoughts, feelings and experiences.
*A minor planet, 2208 Pushkin, discovered in 1977 by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Chernykh
Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh (russian: Никола́й Степа́нович Черны́х) (6 October 1931 – 25 May 2004Казакова, Р.К. Памяти Николая Степановича Черных'. Труды Государст ...
, is named after him. A crater on Mercury is also named in his honour.
* MS ''Aleksandr Pushkin'', second ship of the Russian Ivan Franko class (also referred to as "poet" or "writer" class).
* A station of Tashkent metro was named in his honour.
* The Pushkin Hills and Pushkin Lake were named in his honour in Ben Nevis Township, Cochrane District, in Ontario, Canada.
* UN Russian Language Day __NOTOC__
UN Russian Language Day () is observed annually on June 6. The event was established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2010. UN Russian Language Day coincides with the birthday of Alexan ...
, established by the United Nations in 2010 and celebrated each year on 6 June, was scheduled to coincide with Pushkin's birthday.
* A statue of Pushkin was unveiled inside the Mehan Garden
Mehan Garden is an open space in Manila, Philippines. It was established in 1858 by the Spanish colonial authorities as a botanical garden, called the ''Jardín Botánico'', outside the walled city.
History
Botanical garden
The garden establish ...
in Manila, Philippines to commemorate the Philippines–Russia relations
Philippines–Russia relations (russian: Российско-филиппинские отношения; fil, Ugnayang Pilipinas at Rusya) are the bilateral relations between Russia and the Philippines. Both countries are full members of APEC.
R ...
in 2010.
* The Alexander Pushkin diamond, the second largest found in Russia and the former territory of the USSR, was named after him.
* On 28 November 2009, a Pushkin Monument was erected in Asmara
Asmara ( ), or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude and the second highest capital in Africa. The ...
, capital of Eritrea
Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
.
* In 2005 a monument to Pushkin and his grandmother Maria Hannibal was commissioned by an enthusiast of Russian culture Just Rugel in Zakharovo, Russia. Sculptor V. Kozinin
*In 2019, Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport
Sheremetyevo Alexander S. Pushkin International Airport ( rus, links=no, Международный аэропорт Шереметьево имени А. С. Пушкина, p=ʂɨrʲɪˈmʲetʲjɪvə ''Mezhdunarodny aeroport Sheremetyevo imen ...
was named after Pushkin in accordance to the Great Names of Russia contest.
Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
monuments dedicated to Pushkin in Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
were demolished
Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...
and Pushkin streets were renamed.
Gallery
File:Pushkin 04.jpg, 1800–1802 portrait of Pushkin by Xavier de Maistre
Xavier de Maistre (; 10 October 1763 – 12 June 1852) of Savoy (then part of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia) lived largely as a military man but is known as a French writer. The younger brother of Joseph de Maistre, a noted philosopher a ...
File:Pushkin Alexander, self portret, 1820s.jpg, 1820s self-portrait
File:Pushkin Alexander, 1831 by Sokolov P..jpg, 1831 portrait of Pushkin by Pyotr Sokolov
File:Pushkin alexander .jpg, 1836 portrait of Pushkin by Pyotr Sokolov
File:Mazer-Pushkin.jpg, 1839 portrait of Pushkin by Carl Peter Mazer
File:Pushkin farewell to the sea.jpg, ''Pushkin's Farewell to the Sea'' by Ivan Aivazovsky
Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (russian: link=no, Иван Константинович Айвазовский; 29 July 18172 May 1900) was a Russian Romantic painter who is considered one of the greatest masters of marine art. Baptized ...
and Ilya Repin
Ilya Yefimovich Repin (russian: Илья Ефимович Репин, translit=Il'ya Yefimovich Repin, p=ˈrʲepʲɪn); fi, Ilja Jefimovitš Repin ( – 29 September 1930) was a Russian painter, born in what is now Ukraine. He became one of the ...
, 1877
File:Pushkin portrait by somov .JPG, 1899 portrait of Pushkin by Konstantin Somov
Konstantin Andreyevich Somov (russian: Константин Андреевич Сомов; November 30, 1869 – May 6, 1939) was a Russian artist associated with the '' Mir iskusstva''.
Biography Early life
Konstantin Somov was born on ...
File:Pushkin (by Mate).jpg, 1899 portrait of Pushkin by Vasily Mate
Vasily Vasilyevich Mate (russian: Василий Васильевич Матэ; – ), or Mathé, was a Russian artist and engraver. While he was not the author of any major original works, he was one of the major engravers in Russia during th ...
File:RIAN archive 786660 Room No.14 in Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum.jpg, Pushkin's room while he was a student at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum
File:RIAN archive 549323 Alexander Pushkin's study.jpg, Pushkin's writing table
File:Duel of Pushkin and d'Anthes (19th century).jpg, Duel of Pushkin and Georges d'Anthès
File:RIAN archive 51354 Vest Pushkin Wore during his Duel.jpg, The vest Pushkin wore during his fatal duel in 1837
File:Aleksandr Puškini monument.jpg, Monument to Pushkin in Bakhchysarai, Crimea
File:Pushkin monument in Tsarskoe Selo 02.jpg, Pushkin statue in St. Petersburg, Russia.
File:Aleksandr Pushkin.jpg, Monument to Aleksandr Pushkin located in Pushkin Park in Mexico City
File:Alexander Pushkin automaton android by François Junod.JPG, 2010 Pushkin automaton
An automaton (; plural: automata or automatons) is a relatively self-operating machine, or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions.Automaton – Definition and More ...
, by Swiss automaton maker François Junod.
Works
Narrative poems
* 1820 – ''Ruslan i Ludmila (Руслан и Людмила)''; English translation: ''Ruslan and Ludmila Ruslan may refer to:
* ''Ruslan'' (film), a 2009 film starring Steven Segal
* Ruslan (given name), male name used mainly in Slavic countries, with list of people
* Antonov An-124 ''Ruslan'', large Soviet cargo aircraft, later built in Ukraine and ...
''
* 1820–21 – ''Kavkazskiy plennik (Кавказский пленник)''; English translation: '' The Prisoner of the Caucasus''
* 1821 – ''Gavriiliada (Гавриилиада)''; English translation: ''The Gabrieliad
The ''Gabrieliad'' (russian: «Гавриилиада», ''Gavriiliada'') is a humorous poem on the subject of the Annunciation widely believed to have been written by Alexander Pushkin in April 1821, while he was in his student years.
Synopsis ...
''
* 1821–22 – ''Bratia razboyniki (Братья разбойники)''; English translation: ''The Robber Brothers
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
''
* 1823 – ''Bakhchisarayskiy fontan (Бахчисарайский фонтан)''; English translation: ''The Fountain of Bakhchisaray
''The Fountain of Bakhchisaray'' (russian: «Бахчисарайский фонтан», ''Bakhchisaraiskiy fontan'') is a poem by Alexander Pushkin, written during the years 1821 to 1823.
Pushkin began writing ''The Fountain of Bakhchisa ...
''
* 1824 – ''Tsygany (Цыганы)''; English translation: '' The Gypsies''
* 1825 – ''Graf Nulin (Граф Нулин)''; English translation: ''Count Nulin
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility.L. G. Pine, Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty'' ...
''
* 1829 – '' Poltava (Полтава)''
* 1830 – ''Domik v Kolomne (Домик в Коломне)''; English translation: '' The Little House in Kolomna''
* 1833 – ''Andzhelo (Анджело)''; English translation: ''Angelo''
* 1833 – ''Medny vsadnik (Медный всадник)''; English translation: ''The Bronze Horseman
The ''Bronze Horseman'' (russian: link=no, Медный всадник, literally "copper horseman") is an equestrian statue of Peter the Great in the Senate Square in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was opened to the public on 7 (18) August ...
''
* 1825–1832 (1833) – ''Evgeniy Onegin (Евгений Онегин)''; English translation: ''Eugene Onegin
''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Евгений Оне́гин, ромáн в стихáх, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈnʲeɡʲɪn, r=Yevgeniy Onegin, roman v stikhakh) is ...
''
Drama
* 1825 – ''Boris Godunov (Борис Годунов)''; English translation by Alfred Hayes: '' Boris Godunov''
* 1830 – ''Malenkie tragedii (Маленькие трагедии)''; English translation:
** ''Kamenny gost (Каменный гость)''; English translation: '' The Stone Guest''
** ''Motsart i Salieri (Моцарт и Сальери)''; English translation: '' Mozart and Salieri''
** ''Skupoy rytsar (Скупой рыцарь)''; English translations: ''The Miserly Knight
''The Miserly Knight'', Op. 24, also ''The Covetous Knight'' (russian: Скупой рыцарь, ''Skupój rýtsar’''), is a Russian opera in one act with music by Sergei Rachmaninoff, with the libretto based on Alexander Pushkin's drama of the ...
'', or ''The Covetous Knight''
** ''Pir vo vremya chumy (Пир во время чумы)''; English translation: '' A Feast in Time of Plague''
Prose
Short stories
* 1831 – ''Povesti pokoynogo Ivana Petrovicha Belkina (Повести покойного Ивана Петровича Белкина)''; English translation: ''The Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin
''The Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin'' (russian: «По́вести поко́йного Ива́на Петро́вича Бе́лкина», 1831) is a series of five short stories and a fictional editorial introduction by Russian autho ...
''
** ''Vystrel (Выстрел)''; English translation: ''The Shot
The Shot was a basketball play that occurred during a 1989 playoff game between the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It took place on May 7, 1989 at Richfield Coliseum in Richfield Township, ...
'', short story
** ''Metel (Метель)''; English translation: ''The Blizzard
"The Blizzard" (or The Snow Storm) (russian: Мете́ль, ''Metél' '') is the second of five short stories that constitute ''The Belkin Tales'' by Alexander Pushkin. The manuscript for the story was originally completed October 20, 1830. It wa ...
'', short story
** ''Grobovschik (Гробовщик)''; English translation: ''The Undertaker'', short story
** ''Stantsionny smotritel (Станционный смотритель)''; English translation: '' The Stationmaster'', short story
** ''Baryshnya-krestianka (Барышня-крестьянка)''; English translation: ''The Squire's Daughter'', short story
* 1834 – ''Pikovaya dama (Пиковая дама)''; English translation: '' The Queen of Spades'', short story
* 1834 – ''Kirjali (Кирджали)''; English translation: '' Kirdzhali'', short story
* 1837 – ''Istoria sela Goryuhina (История села Горюхина)''; English translation: '' The Story of the Village of Goryukhino'', unfinished short story
* 1837 – ''Egypetskie nochi (Египетские ночи)''; English translation: '
Novels
* 1828 – ''Arap Petra Velikogo (Арап Петра Великого)''; English translation: ''The Moor of Peter the Great
''The Moor of Peter the Great'' (russian: Арап Петра Великого, 'The Blackamoor of Peter the Great'' or ''The Negro of Peter the Great'') is an unfinished historical novel by Alexander Pushkin. Written in 1827–1828 and first publ ...
'', unfinished novel
* 1829 – ''Roman v pis'makh (Роман в письмах)''; English translation: ''A Novel in Letters'', unfinished novel
* 1836 – ''Kapitanskaya dochka (Капитанская дочка)''; English translation: ''The Captain's Daughter
''The Captain's Daughter'' (russian: «Капитанская дочка», Kapitanskaya dochka) is a historical novel by the Russian writer Alexander Pushkin. It was first published in 1836 in the fourth issue of the literary journal '' Sovrem ...
'', novel
* 1836 – ''Roslavlyov (Рославлев)''; English translation: '' Roslavlev'', unfinished novel
* 1841 – ''Dubrovsky (Дубровский)''; English translation: '' Dubrovsky'', unfinished novel
Non-fiction
* 1834 – ''Istoria Pugachyova (История Пугачева)''; English translation: ''A History of Pugachev
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes' ...
'', study of the Pugachev's Rebellion
Pugachev's Rebellion (, ''Vosstaniye Pugachyova''; also called the Peasants' War 1773–1775 or Cossack Rebellion) of 1773–1775 was the principal revolt in a series of popular rebellions that took place in the Russian Empire after Catherine ...
* 1836 – ''Puteshestvie v Arzrum (Путешествие в Арзрум)''; English translation: ''A Journey to Arzrum __NOTOC__
''A Journey to Arzrum'' (russian: «Путешествие в Арзрум»; full title: ''A Journey to Arzrum during the Campaign of 1829'', «Путешествие в Арзрум во время похода 1829 года») is a wor ...
'', travel sketches
Fairy tales in verse
* 1822 – ''Царь Никита и сорок его дочерей''; English translation: ''Tsar Nikita and His Forty Daughters''
* 1825 – ''Жених''; English translation: '' The Bridegroom''
* 1830 – ''Сказка о попе и о работнике его Балде''; English translation: ''The Tale of the Priest and of His Workman Balda
"The Tale of the Priest and of his Workman Balda" (russian: «Сказка о попе и о работнике его Балде», Skazka o pope i o rabotnike yego Balde) is a fairy tale in verse by Alexander Pushkin. Pushkin wrote the tale ...
''
* 1830 – ''Сказка о медведихе''; English translation: ''The Tale of the Female Bear'', or ''The Tale of the Bear'' (was not finished)
* 1831 – ''Сказка о царе Салтане''; English translation: ''The Tale of Tsar Saltan
The Tale of Tsar Saltan, of His Son the Renowned and Mighty Bogatyr Prince Gvidon Saltanovich, and of the Beautiful Princess-Swan ( rus, «Сказка о царе Салтане, о сыне его славном и могучем богаты ...
''
* 1833 – ''Сказка о рыбаке и рыбке''; English translation: '' The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish''
* 1833 – ''Сказка о мертвой царевне''; English translation: '' The Tale of the Dead Princess''
* 1834 – ''Сказка о золотом петушке''; English translation: ''The Tale of the Golden Cockerel
''The Tale of the Golden Cockerel'' (russian: «Сказка о золотом петушке», Skazka o zolotom petushke) is the last fairy tale in verse by Alexander Pushkin. Pushkin wrote the tale in 1834 and it was first published in literary ...
''
See also
* Anton Delvig
Baron Anton Antonovich Delvig (russian: Анто́н Анто́нович Де́львигIn Delvig's day, his name was written Антонъ Антоновичъ Дельвигъ., Antón Antónovich Délʹvig, ɐnˈton ɐnˈtonəvʲɪtɕ ˈdelʲv ...
* Aleksandra Ishimova
* Anna Petrovna Kern
* Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy
* ''Literaturnaya Gazeta''
* Pushkin Prize
* Vasily Pushkin
* Vladimir Dal
* Kapiton Zelentsov, contemporary illustrator of Pushkin's novels
* UN Russian Language Day __NOTOC__
UN Russian Language Day () is observed annually on June 6. The event was established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2010. UN Russian Language Day coincides with the birthday of Alexan ...
* Demolition of monuments to Alexander Pushkin in Ukraine
Notes
References
Further reading
* T. J. Binyon, Binyon, T.J. (2002) ''Pushkin: A Biography''. London: HarperCollins ; US edition: New York: Knopf, 2003
* Yuri Druzhnikov (2008) ''Prisoner of Russia: Alexander Pushkin and the Political Uses of Nationalism'', Transaction Publishers
* Dunning, Chester, Emerson, Caryl, Fomichev, Sergei, Lotman, Lidiia, Wood, Antony (Translator) (2006
''The Uncensored Boris Godunov: The Case for Pushkin's Original Comedy''
University of Wisconsin Press
* Elaine Feinstein, Feinstein, Elaine (ed.) (1999) ''After Pushkin: versions of the poems of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin by contemporary poets''. Manchester: Carcanet Press; London: Folio Society
*
* Pogadaev, Victor (2003) ''Penyair Agung Rusia Pushkin dan Dunia Timur (The Great Russian Poet Pushkin and the Oriental World)''. Monograph Series. Centre For Civilisational Dialogue. University Malaya. 2003,
* Vitale, Serena (1998) ''Pushkin's button''; transl. from the Italian by Ann Goldstein (translator), Ann Goldstein. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux
* DuVernet, M.A. (2014) ''Pushkin's Ode to Liberty''. US edition: Xlibris
* Телетова, Н.К. (Teletova, N.K.) (2007) ''Забытые родственные связи А.С. Пушкина'' (''The forgotten family connections of A.S. Pushkin''). Saint Petersburg: Dorn
* Markus Wolf, Wolfe, Markus (1998) ''Freemasonry in life and literature''. Munich: Otto Sagner ltd.
* Wachtel, Michael. "Pushkin and the Wikipedia" ''Pushkin Review'' 12–13: 163–66, 2009–2010
* Jakowlew, Valentin. "Pushkin's Farewell Dinner in Paris" (Text in Russian) Koblenz (Germany): Fölbach, 2006, .
* Galgano Andrea (2014). ''The affective dynamics in the work and thought of Alexandr Pushkin'', Conference Proceedings, 17th World Congress of the World Association for Dynamic Psychiatry. Multidisciplinary Approach to and Treatment of Mental Disorders: Myth or Reality?, St. Petersburg, 14–17 May 2014, In Dynamische Psychiatrie. Internationale Zeitschrift für Psychotherapie, Psychoanalyse und Psychiatrie – International Journal for Psychoanalysis, Psychotherapy, and Psychiatry, Berlin: Pinel Verlag GmbH, 1–3, Nr. 266–68, 2015, pp. 176–91.
External links
*
*
*
*
Biographical essay on Pushkin.
By Mike Phillips, British Library (Pdf).
The ''Pushkin Review''
annual journal of North American Pushkin Society. Retrieved 2010-10-19
English translations of Pushkin's poems
Retrieved 2013-04-26
English translation of "The Tale of the Female Bear"
* [http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~pml1/bronze_horseman/welcome.htm List of English translations of ''The Bronze Horseman'' with extracts]
Alexander Pushkin. Mozart and Saliery in English
Alexander Pushkin. Boris Godunov in English
Alexander Pushkin. The Bronze Horseman in English
Alexander Pushkin poetry
rus)
*
Alexander Pushkin Quotes
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pushkin, Aleksandr
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