Alexander Puskin

Young Pushkin () stirs up trouble at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. It is 1814, and the school has only opened its doors a few years ago. Pushkin is a ringleader and a sly one among the students, in general, the very same "son of a bitch" - he will either challenge a classmate to a duel or get into an altercation with a teacher (who complains about the ban on corporal punishment, otherwise Pushkin would get it). The future talent is insolent, now and then switching to recitative in arguments. Already within the walls of the Lyceum, his verb rhymes will be put to a beat - one of the non-trivial stylistic solutions of "The Prophet", which Umarov resorts to several times. The curly-haired youth will soon flutter out of the walls of the Lyceum - he will transform (an adult version of Pushkin) at numerous balls in St. Petersburg. The picture briefly recounts several main stages in the life of Alexander Pushkin. The action begins in his Lyceum years, when the aspiring poet rebels against the strict order. Growing up, he becomes the favorite of Princess Golitsyna and a friend of Vasily Zhukovsky - they protect the rebel from persecution. However, his unrestrained behavior leads Pushkin to exile. The poet creates works that are destined to become great, and upon returning to St. Petersburg, he unexpectedly meets the emperor himself. Now Pushkin has a new dream - he wants to marry Natalia Goncharova. Alexander Pushkin began writing his first works at the age of seven. During his years at the Lyceum, he became famous when he read his poem to Gavriil Derzhavin. Pushkin was the first Russian writer to earn money from literary work. He created not only lyric poetry, but also fairy tales, historical prose and works in support of revolutionaries - for his freethinking, the poet was even sent into exile.

Alexander Pushkin was born into an impoverished noble family on June 6, 1799. In early childhood, he was a silent and sedentary child - his older sister Olga recalled that until the age of six, the boy "was just a oaf." Pushkin received his primary education at home. His upbringing was no different from the system generally accepted in noble families at that time: his parents hired tutors and teachers from France, Germany, England, and Russia for him.
Pushkin found studying difficult, and teachers noted that he was not diligent. However, the boy soon became interested in reading. "He spent sleepless nights and secretly devoured books one after another in his father's study," his younger brother Lev later recalled.
"I don't know what will become of my eldest grandson. The boy is smart and a bookworm, but he studies poorly, rarely does he pass his lessons in order; sometimes you can't stir him up, you can't send him out to play with the children, then suddenly he turns around and gets carried away so much that you can't calm him down: he rushes from one extreme to another, he has no middle ground." His love for reading grew into attempts to create his own texts. Already at the age of seven, Pushkin composed short comedies in French, imitating Moliere. Later, after reading the works of La Fontaine, the young author wanted to write fables. And after reading Voltaire's "Henriade", Pushkin conceived a poem in six songs: all the books he read inspired the budding author.

In 1811, Pushkin's parents decided to send their son to the Jesuit College, but their plans changed when a lyceum for noble children opened in Tsarskoye Selo. With the help of friends, the Pushkins arranged for their 12-year-old son to attend the elite institution. Initially, it was intended to prepare children from the imperial family and their peers for the highest civil ranks. But the status of the Lyceum was lowered: Pushkin studied in a privileged and closed institution, but among equal children from impoverished families. Within the walls of the Lyceum, many became close friends. Three comrades - Ivan Pushchin, Anton Delvig, Wilhelm Kuchelbecker - remained Pushkin's friends for life.
The famous lawyer Alexander Kunitsyn, philosopher Alexander Galich, and philologist Nikolai Koshansky taught at the Lyceum. It was the professors who had the greatest influence on the intellectual and moral development of the students – relatives could only visit their children on weekends. On weekdays, classes began at seven in the morning and continued until late in the evening. During his years of study, Alexander Pushkin perceived his alma mater as a “monastery” and dreamed of the freedom that would come with graduating from the Lyceum.

Pushkin was not a very good student, logic and mathematics were especially difficult for the young writer. Despite his brilliant memory, he lacked perseverance and attention. However, teachers noted the student's erudition. At the Lyceum, he continued to read a lot and write texts in French. Lyceum student Sergei Komovsky recalled that because of his love for this language, Pushkin was "called... mockingly a Frenchman, and by his physiognomy and some habits, a monkey and even a mixture of a monkey and a tiger."
In Russian, Alexander Pushkin composed short epigrams and messages, and also outlined the structure of his future autobiography. The young author was so fascinated by literary creativity that ideas for works were born one after another for several months in advance: “Yesterday I wrote the third chapter of “Fatama, or the Human Mind”. <…> I started a comedy - I don’t know if I’ll finish it. The day before yesterday I wanted to write an ironic poem “Igor and Olga”. In the summer I will write “A Picture of Tsarskoye Selo”. Pushkin also wrote poems. In 1814, he first published one of them - “To a Poet Friend” - under the pseudonym Alexander N.k.shp. in the magazine “Bulletin of Europe”.
Pushkin's first major success came in 1815 during the winter transfer exam - the 15-year-old lyceum student read his poem "Memories in Tsarskoe Selo". Gavriil Derzhavin was present at the exam and was shocked by the young poet's creation. Pushkin later wrote: "I don't remember how I finished my reading; I don't remember where I ran off to. Derzhavin was delighted; he demanded me, wanted to embrace me... They looked for me, but didn't find me."

In 1817, Alexander Pushkin graduated from the Lyceum. He was 24th out of 29 graduates in his academic performance. Pushkin was sent to the College of Foreign Affairs as a 10th class official. But he was only listed there: government service had little appeal to the young man. After six years of study, Pushkin plunged headlong into the social life of the capital and, as a famous and honored author, found himself in the society of St. Petersburg writers. While still at the Lyceum, he became a member of the literary circle "Arzamas", which fought against archaic linguistic traditions.
In 1819, Pushkin joined the literary and theatrical society "Green Lamp" under the Decembrist "Union of Welfare". Its members promoted freedom-loving ideas. At the meetings, they read poems, discussed theatrical premieres, and criticized journalistic articles. Here, not only secular disputes were held, but also political conversations. All this was reflected in Pushkin's work: he wrote several epigrams on the statesmen of that time, the ode "Liberty", the poems "To Chaadaev" and "The Village".
The sharp political works incurred the wrath of Alexander I, and the emperor decided to exile Pushkin to Siberia or to the Solovetsky Monastery. However, Nikolai Karamzin stood up for the poet: Pushkin was transferred from the capital to the South due to his service. Before leaving, in 1820, Alexander Pushkin finished the poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila". Vasily Zhukovsky highly appreciated this work and presented the poet with his portrait with the inscription "To the victorious student from the defeated teacher"

Poet
Share:

Alexander Pushkin
Years of life: June 6, 1799 - February 10, 1837
Country: Russian Empire
Field of activity: Poet
Content
HIDE

1. "From one extreme to another"
2. "The Frenchman" at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum
3. Pushkin's service and career
4. Southern Link
5. Pushkin in Mikhailovskoye
6. “I want to publish myself or give myself out to the world”
7. Pushkin's personal life
8. Boldino autumn
9. The Duel and the Death of the Poet
10. Interesting facts
    Alexander Pushkin began writing his first works at the age of seven. During his years at the Lyceum, he became famous when he read his poem to Gavriil Derzhavin. Pushkin was the first Russian writer to earn money through literary work. He created not only lyric poetry, but also fairy tales, historical prose, and works in support of revolutionaries - the poet was even sent into exile for his freethinking.
    "From one extreme to another"
    Yuri Ivanov. Portrait of Pushkin as a boy (fragment). 2010s. State A.S. Pushkin Museum, Moscow
    Anatoly Itkin. Alexander Pushkin as a Lyceum Student in the Park. 1967. State A.S. Pushkin Museum, Moscow
    Georgy Osokin. Alexander Pushkin in childhood. 1961. National Museum of the Republic of Mari El named after Timofey Evseev, Yoshkar-Ola
    Alexander Pushkin was born into an impoverished noble family on June 6, 1799. In early childhood, he was a silent and sedentary child - his older sister Olga recalled that until the age of six, the boy "was just a oaf." Pushkin received his primary education at home. His upbringing was no different from the system generally accepted in noble families at that time: his parents hired tutors and teachers from France, Germany, England, and Russia for him.
    Pushkin found studying difficult, and teachers noted that he was not diligent. However, the boy soon became interested in reading. "He spent sleepless nights and secretly devoured books one after another in his father's study," his younger brother Lev later recalled.
    "I don't know what will become of my eldest grandson. The boy is smart and a bookworm, but he studies poorly, rarely does he pass his lesson in order; then he is not

In the spring of 1820, Alexander Pushkin went to Kishinev, to the office of the chief trustee of the colonists of the Southern Territory. On the way to his new place of service, the poet fell seriously ill. To improve his health, Pushkin first went to the Caucasus, then to Crimea. His travel impressions from the south of the empire were later reflected in some of his works. Finally, in September 1820, Pushkin arrived in Kishinev.
The new boss, Lieutenant General Ivan Inzov, treated his subordinate's service indulgently and did not assign him any official matters. Pushkin spent his time as he pleased: he communicated with members of the "Union of Welfare" and joined the Masonic lodge "Ovid". In his free hours, he continued to write. During this period, "The Prisoner of the Caucasus", "Gabriliad", "The Robber Brothers", "The Fountain of Bakhchisarai", and "The Song of the Prophetic Oleg" appeared. Pushkin also began working on a novel in verse, "Eugene Onegin".
At this time, the poet's books began to be published in St. Petersburg - "Ruslan and Lyudmila", "The Prisoner of the Caucasus", "The Fountain of Bakhchisarai". With them, Pushkin's professional activity began: he was the first writer in Russia to earn money from literary work.
In 1823, Pushkin moved to Odessa. Here he got a job in the office of Count Vorontsov. However, soon official and personal conflicts led to Pushkin asking for resignation.

Vorontsov is a vandal, a court boor and a petty egoist. He saw me as a collegiate secretary, but I confess that I think of myself as something else. <…> I am moving away from evil and will do good: I will quit my job and take up rhyme."
Alexander Pushkin
Meanwhile, in Moscow in 1824, the police opened a letter from Pushkin: he wrote to Kuchelbecker about his passion for "atheistic teachings." For such statements, the poet faced more than just resignation. Pushkin was sent into real exile to the family estate in the village of Mikhailovskoye in the Pskov province - the South was still passed off as a forced assignment. The writer was deprived of his modest salary, surveillance was established, and the end of the sentence was not indicated in any way. In Mikhailovskoye, Pushkin led a solitary life. His parents, along with his sister Olga and brother Lev, left the estate so that the exile would not have a bad influence on the family. At first, the poet was happy with the peace and quiet, but with the onset of autumn cold weather, he became melancholy. The only entertainment for Pushkin was conversations with his nanny Arina Rodionovna. Her fairy tales, as the poet said, corrected the shortcomings of French education. He wrote down the plots of the fairy tales and later used them in his works.
The reclusive lifestyle did not become destructive for Pushkin, rather the opposite: the writer read a lot, worked, thought about creativity. In the first Mikhailov autumn, he began to write "Boris Godunov". This tragedy became an important stage in the poet's work: he moved from romanticism with its heroism to the realistic embodiment of characters.
“Following Shakespeare’s example, I limited myself to depicting historical eras and figures, without chasing after stage effects, romantic flashes, etc.”

Exoticism and abstraction left the poet's work, and contemporary realities came to the fore. Having completed the tragedy, Pushkin wrote to Prince Pyotr Vyazemsky: "My tragedy is over; I reread it aloud, alone, and clapped my hands and shouted, 'Well done Pushkin, well done son of a bitch!'
Pushkin completed the poem "To the Sea" that he had begun in Odessa, resumed work on his autobiographical notes, wrote the humorous poem "Count Nulin", and the love poem-dedication "To ***".
"I want to publish myself or give myself out to the world"
Yuri Ivanov, Sergey Dmitrenko and Elena Trubilova. Pushkin among the Decembrists in Kamenka (fragment). Postcard from the set “Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin”. 1984. Vyatskopolyansky Historical Museum, Vyatskie Polyany, Kirov Region
Stanislav Vikharev. Alexander Pushkin on the Neva Embankment (fragment). 1956. All-Russian Museum of A.S. Pushkin, St. Petersburg
Yuri Ivanov, Sergey Dmitrenko and Elena Trubilova. December 14, 1825. Decembrists on Senate Square (fragment). Postcard from the set "Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin". 1984. Vyatskopolyansky Historical Museum, Vyatskiye Polyany, Kirov Region
On December 1, 1825, Alexander I died. The Emperor left no heirs, and the supposed Emperor Constantine, the next oldest brother, abdicated. Nikolai Pavlovich became a pretender to power. Members of the Northern Secret Society decided to take advantage of the interregnum. An uprising was scheduled for the morning of December 26. The participants planned to lead troops to Senate Square and force senators, instead of swearing allegiance to Nikolai, to sign a manifesto to the Russian people on the convocation of a Constituent Assembly. A constitutional monarchy or republic was to be established in Russia. However, the attempt at a coup d'état failed.

The Decembrist Uprising Pushkin learned about while in exile. The investigation into this case did not promise anything good: the poet's poems were found on all those arrested. The writer had to sign a receipt stating that he was not a member of secret societies and did not know about their existence. Pushkin, although worried about his situation, hoped that the new emperor would forgive him and release him from exile.
"I have already written to the Tsar, immediately after the investigation was over, concluding my petition with exactly your words. I await an answer, but have little hope. Rebellion and revolution have never pleased me, that is true; but I was in touch with almost all and in correspondence with many of the conspirators. All the outrageous manuscripts circulated under my name, just as all the obscene ones circulate under the name of Barkov. If I had been called in by the commission, I would of course have justified myself, but they left me alone, and it seems that this is not a good thing. However, the devil knows."
From a letter from Alexander Pushkin to Prince Pyotr Vyazemsky
In 1826, the first collection of "Poems by Alexander Pushkin" was published. It was a huge success: the volume sold out in a few weeks. That year, Pushkin wrote the next chapters of "Eugene Onegin", but was in no hurry to publish them, as well as his other works. In response to the publisher Pyotr Pletnev, he sharply replied: "I want to publish myself or give myself out to the world" - that is, to free myself from exile.
On September 20, 1826, Pushkin was summoned to an audience with Tsar Nicholas I. After the brutal massacre of the Decembrists, the emperor wanted to win over society, so he brought the beloved famous poet back from exile. The monarch not only freed Pushkin, but guaranteed his highest patronage and offered to become his personal censor.

After a conversation with Nicholas I, the writer hoped to gain complete freedom in his work. However, the Tsar had other plans: Pushkin was to become a poet at court. The plan did not come true. In 1827, Pushkin wrote the poem "Arion", in which he expressed his loyalty to the ideas of liberation. And through the Decembrist's wife, Alexandra Muravyova, he sent the poem "In the Depths of Siberian Mines" to the Siberian penal servitude - a message to the revolutionaries.
Censorship increased, the poet's personal correspondence was reviewed, and his every move was reported to the head of the Third Section of Gendarmes, Alexander Benckendorff. Pushkin was even forbidden to travel freely around the country and publicly read his works. Despite the strict control, he continued to defend his freedom-loving ideas and dedicated the poems "The Poet and the Crowd" and "The Poet" to this topic. In 1829, at one of the balls, Alexander Pushkin met Natalia Goncharova. The girl was 16 years old at the time, the poet was almost 30. The first beauty of Moscow immediately captivated Pushkin, and a few months later he proposed to Goncharova. However, her mother referred to the girl's young age and did not immediately give her consent. The upset writer left Moscow to his brother in the Caucasus, where a war was going on at the time.
"When I saw her [Natalia Goncharova] for the first time, her beauty was just beginning to be noticed in society. I fell in love with her, my head was spinning, I asked for her hand. Your answer, with all its uncertainty, almost drove me crazy; that same night I left for the army. You ask me - why? I swear, I myself do not know how to say; but an involuntary melancholy drove me from Moscow: I could not bear the presence of you and hers in it"

In the Caucasus, Pushkin wrote a cycle of poems dedicated to this region: "The Caucasus", "On the hills of Georgia lies the night mist...", "Avalanche", "Delibash" and "Monastery on Kazbek". In 1830, the writer returned to Moscow and again proposed to Natalia Goncharova. This time, the couple's parents blessed the couple.
However, the wedding was hampered by the fact that Pushkin had no property. Then the poet's father gave his son part of the family estate Boldino in the Nizhny Novgorod province, the village of Kistenevo, along with two hundred peasants. In the summer of 1830, Pushkin went there to settle legal issues. The writer expected to stay in Boldino for no more than a month, but a cholera epidemic changed his plans. It was impossible to leave the village, so the writer spent three months there.
"Entry to Moscow is prohibited, and so I am locked up in Boldino. <…> I am completely dejected and, frankly, I don't know what to do. It is clear that this year (damn it) our wedding will not happen. <…> No neighbors, no books. The weather is terrible. I spend my time scribbling and getting angry"
from a letter from Alexander Pushkin to Natalia Goncharova
Boldino autumn was a period of unprecedented creative growth. In Boldino, Pushkin finished "Eugene Onegin", wrote "The Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin", "The History of the Village of Goryukhino", "Little Tragedies", the drama "The Mermaid", the poem "The Little House in Kolomna" and many poems.
Pushkin returned to Moscow in December 1830, and a few months later he married Natalia Goncharova. The poet dreamed of solitude, a quiet family life, and calm work on books. However, his wishes were not destined to come true.

In 1831, Alexander Pushkin was hired as a historiographer to write the History of Peter. But the writer was more interested in the biography of the rebel Yemelyan Pugachev. Pushkin conceived of creating an epic novel about this era. First, he collected information in archives, then traveled to the regions of the Pugachev rebellion - the Volga region and the Urals - to reliably describe the events of that time.
After the expedition, Alexander Pushkin went to Boldino. In the family estate, he worked on his scientific work "The History of Pugachev", wrote "The Bronze Horseman", "Angelo", "The Queen of Spades", "The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish", "The Tale of the Dead Princess and the Seven Knights". The second Boldino autumn was half as short as the previous one, but no less productive for Pushkin.
Nicholas I granted Pushkin a junior court title, the rank of chamberlain. Now the Pushkin couple could be officially invited to court balls. The poet considered this position insulting for his age. The writer wanted to refuse the new title, but had to resign himself to it.

In the 1830s, Pushkin wrote only realistic works. But his contemporaries were not ready for the new literary trend that described social inequality, historical phenomena and other complex aspects of life. His fellow writers did not accept the writer’s new works, and he did not find support in court circles either. Gossip about Pushkin’s wife and her admirers circulated in St. Petersburg, and the poet received anonymous letters. The poet could not remain cool and endure offensive rumors.
On February 8, 1837, a duel took place between Alexander Pushkin and Georges Dantes, the main intriguer who was discrediting Natalia Pushkina's reputation. During the duel, the poet was seriously wounded and died two days later. Alexander Pushkin was buried on the territory of the Svyatogorsk Monastery in the Pskov province.