Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837) - the greatest national poet, the creator of the modern Russian literary language and the originator of the realistic tendency in Russian literature. Fyodor Dostoyevsky wrote, "But for Pushkin there would have been no other talents after him." Pushkin's poetry remains unsurpassed. Lightness, refinement and accuracy of the verses, vividness of images and universality of thought determined the poet's paramount importance for national culture. "Pushkin is a giant, our greatest pride and the summit of Russia's spirit," Maxim Gorky, a famous Russian
writer, said.

Landmarks of the Poet's Life
Pushkin was born in Moscow on May 26, 1799. His father, Sergei Pushkin, belonged to the ancient aristocracy. In Russian history the Pushkins were famous for providing diplomats and military leaders. The poets mother, Nadezhda,
passed down a drop of African blood to her children. Her grandfather, Abraham Hannibal, was born in Abyssinia and brought to Russia as a child and became the ward and brother-in-arms of Peter the Great. Sergei and Nadezhda Pushkin had two more children - Olga and Lev. In 1811 the future poet entered the newly-opened school for children of the nobility, the Lyceum at Tsarskoye Selo (now the town of Pushkin not far from St. Petersburg). He completed the studies in 1817. After graduating from the Lyceum, Pushkin was appointed to work in the Foreign Affairs Department. In 1820 his first major poem "Ruslan and Ludmila" was published and he was immediately acknowledged the country's leading poet. In that same time, on orders of Alexander I, Pushkin was exiled to
southern Russia for "inundating all Russia with rebellious poems." The southern exile ended in a conflict over the poet's service. In 1824 Pushkin was dismissed and sent to his parent's estate Mikhailovskoye, a village in Pskov region. (125 km south-east of Pskov). The Mikhailovskoye exile was a very fruitful period in the poet's creative life. At Mikhailovskoye Pushkin wrote more than 100 works. Among them the place of honor must go to his novel in verse "Eugene Onegin". The country chapters of the novel were composed at Mikhailovskoye. "Eugene Onegin" is a poetical chronicle in which the poet's observations of the contemporary public life in Russia merge with the lyrical diary of the author, his thoughts about the time and  about himself. In 1826 the new emperor of Russia, Nicholas I, summoned Pushkin from  Mikhailovskoye and gave him amnesty, taking on himself the responsibility of being  the poet's censor. This placed the poet in a very difficult situation and fettered  his creativity. In 1831 Pushkin married a young Moscow beauty, Natalya Goncharova.
Pushkin's  marriage did not bring him peace and happiness. All his efforts to retire from government service and live on his estate in order to write  were unsuccessful. On January 27, 1837 a duel took place between Pushkin and Georges   D'Anthes who was  the stepson of the Dutch Ambassador in Russia and who had courted the poet's wife relentlessly. Pushkin was fatally wounded and died on January 29,   1837.
"Like one's first love, in Russia's heart
You'll live to be forgotten never "
wrote the poet Fyodor Tyutchev on Pushkin's death.

Museum info:
The A. Pushkin Estate-Museum
Open Tuesday-Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The museum
is closed during April and November.
Address:  Russia, 181370 Pskov region,  Pushkinskie Gory,
Mikhailovskoe
Phone/fax: +7 81146 22321
http://www.pushkin.ellink.ru/
e-mail: museum@pushkin.pskov.ru

The Poet's Major Works
Poems: Ruslan and Ludmila, Prisoner of  the Caucasus, The Fountain of Bakchisarai, The Gypsies, Poltava, The Bronze Horseman
Novel in verse: Eugene Onegin
Dramas: Boris Godunov, The Covetous Knight, Mozart and Salieri, The Stone Guest, Feast during the Plague, The Mermaid Fairy tales: The Tale of Tsar Saltan, The Tale of the Dead Princess and the Seven Strongmen, The Tale of the Fisherman and the Golden Fish, The Tale of the Golden уockerel, The Tale of the Priest and His Servant, the Fool
Prose: The Tales of the Ivan Petrovich Belkin, Dubrovsky, The Queen of Spades, The Captain's Daughter, The Blackmoor of Peter the Great
Verses: Tempest, Winter Road, The Bacchic Song, Wondrous moment, I loved you, The Prophet, Exegi Monumentum, Wandering the noisy streets, Amidst the noisy ball..., Anchar, Arion, My beauty, do not sing for me, Prisoner, and many others.