Alexander Pushkin

Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (6 June O.S. 26 May 1799 – 10 February O.S. 29 January 1837) was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist from the Romantic era. Many think of him as the greatest Russian poet and the starter of modern Russian literature.

Pushkin was born into the Russian nobility in Moscow. His father, Sergey Lvovich Pushkin, came from an old noble family. One of his maternal great-grandfathers was Abram Petrovich Gannibal, a nobleman and military general of African origin. He was taken from his homeland by the Ottomans but was later freed by the Russian Emperor and raised in the Emperor's court as his godson.

Pushkin published his first poem when he was 15 and was well-known in literature by the time he finished at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. His works, including his famous play Boris Godunov and his novel in verse Eugene Onegin, are still important parts of Russian literature.

Ancestry

Alexander Pushkin came from a noble family. His father, Sergei Lvovich Pushkin, was from a well-known noble family. His mother, Nadezhda (Nadya) Ossipovna Gannibal, also had noble ancestors from Germany and Scandinavia.

Pushkin's great-grandfather, Abram Petrovich Gannibal, was born in Central Africa, near Lake Chad in what is now Cameroon. He was taken from his home and sent to Constantinople as a gift for the Ottoman Sultan. Later, he was given to Peter the Great of Russia. He studied in France and then served in the Russian army. He helped build important sea forts and canals.

Early life

Alexander Pushkin was born in Moscow. He grew up with nursemaids and French tutors who taught him to speak French before he learned Russian. He started writing poems when he was only 15 years old. He went to a special school called the Imperial Lyceum in Tsarskoye Selo, where everyone knew about his talent for writing. After finishing school, he moved to St. Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire. In 1820, he published his first long poem, Ruslan and Ludmila.

Social activism

Alexander Pushkin cared about fairness and new ideas. While he was studying, he learned from thinkers like Voltaire.

Because he spoke up for new ideas, the government sent him away from the city in 1820. He traveled to places like the Caucasus, Crimea, Kamianka, and Chișinău. He also wanted to help Greece become independent from the Ottoman Empire.

Rise

Alexander Pushkin stayed in Chișinău until 1823 and wrote two famous poems: The Prisoner of the Caucasus and The Fountain of Bakhchisaray. Later, he moved to Odessa, where he had problems with the government and was sent to live on his mother's estate called Mikhailovskoye near Pskov.

While in Mikhailovskoye, Pushkin wrote many love poems and began work on his famous novel in verse, Eugene Onegin. During this time, he also wrote a play called Boris Godunov, but he couldn’t publish it until many years later. Pushkin’s poems were found with the rebels during the Decembrist Uprising in 1825, which caused him trouble. After meeting with Emperor Nicholas I, Pushkin was allowed to leave exile and work for the government, though his writings were closely watched.

Pushkin met and married Natalia Goncharova in 1831 after a year’s delay because of cholera. He also helped launch the career of writer Nikolai Gogol by publishing some of Gogol’s stories in his magazine, The Contemporary, which he started in 1836.

Death

In late 1836 and early 1837, Pushkin had money problems and faced rumors about his wife. This led to a duel challenge with Georges d'Anthès. Though people tried to stop it, the duel took place on January 27, 1837.

During the duel, d'Anthès shot first and hurt Pushkin badly. Pushkin was injured but still fired back, only lightly wounding d'Anthès. Pushkin died two days later from his injuries. His funeral was well-attended, and he was buried near Pskov, in the grounds of Svyatogorsky monastery. Today, his last home is a museum.

Descendants

Alexander Pushkin and his wife Natalia had four children: Maria, Alexander, Grigory, and Natalia. Natalia later married Prince Nikolaus Wilhelm of Nassau and became the Countess of Merenberg. Her daughter Sophie married Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia, who was a grandson of Emperor Nicholas I.

Today, Pushkin's descendants live in many countries, including the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the United States. One of his descendants married into the British royal family.

Legacy

Pushkin's books are loved by many people. His poem The Bronze Horseman and drama The Stone Guest have exciting stories. His short drama Mozart and Salieri inspired other plays and operas.

Pushkin wrote many short stories, like The Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin. His book Eugene Onegin helped start a tradition of great Russian books. He also wrote The Queen of Spades, a story often read in schools.

Pushkin's stories inspired musicians. Glinka wrote an opera called Ruslan and Lyudmila based on Pushkin's work. Tchaikovsky made famous operas like Eugene Onegin and The Queen of Spades. Other composers such as Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Tchaikovsky also used Pushkin's stories for their operas.

Pushkin played an important role in Russian writing. He helped shape the modern Russian language and introduced new words. His work set high standards and inspired many writers. He wrote in many different styles, from poetry to novels to plays.

Honours

After Alexander Pushkin died, many people honoured him for his work. The poet Petar II Petrović-Njegoš wrote a poem to remember him. In 1937, the town of Tsarskoye Selo was renamed Pushkin.

Museums about Pushkin are in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Mikhailovskoye. There is a statue of him in Washington, D.C. A minor planet, 2208 Pushkin, was named after him. Some places, like a station in the Tashkent metro and areas in Canada, are named after him. The United Nations celebrates Russian Language Day on June 6, his birthday.

Works

Alexander Pushkin wrote many famous poems, plays, and stories that people still love today. Some of his best-known poems are Ruslan and Ludmila, The Prisoner of the Caucasus, and The Bronze Horseman. He also wrote powerful plays like Boris Godunov and Little Tragedies, which have famous scenes such as The Stone Guest and Mozart and Salieri.

Pushkin wrote beautiful fairy tales in verse, like The Tale of Tsar Saltan, The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish, and The Tale of the Dead Princess. His short stories, such as The Queen of Spades and The Stationmaster, are also widely read. Among his novels, The Captain's Daughter is one of his most celebrated works.