Alexander Pushkin

Eugene Onegin

The 'encyclopaedia of Russian life': Tchaikovsky turned it into an opera.

💡 Did you know? Tchaikovsky turned the verse novel into one of the best-loved Russian operas.

Tatyana

Her love letter to Onegin is among the most famous passages in Russian literature.

💡 Did you know? Tatyana's love letter to Onegin is one of the most famous passages in Russian literature.

national poet

He practically single-handedly created the modern Russian literary language: Dostoevsky and Tolstoy called him their origin.

💡 Did you know? For Russians, Pushkin is what Shakespeare is for England: „our everything,“ as the saying goes.

in a duel

The French officer d'Anthès had scandalously courted Pushkin's wife: anonymous mocking letters drove the poet to the duel.

💡 Did you know? Pushkin died from a duel over his wife's honour: at just 37.

Boris Godunov

Written on Shakespeare's model: Mussorgsky made it into the most famous Russian opera.

💡 Did you know? The drama inspired Mussorgsky's opera of the same name, a milestone of Russian music.

Abram Hannibal

Pushkin was proud of it and began a novel: 'The Moor of Peter the Great'.

💡 Did you know? Abram Hannibal, his African great-grandfather, came to the tsar's court as a child and rose to general.

for his freedom poems

First to the empire's south, then to the Mikhailovskoye estate: where 'Onegin' matured.

💡 Did you know? His freedom-loving poems circulated secretly before the tsar banished the young poet to the south.

Tsar Nicholas I

A golden leash Pushkin tugged at all his life.

💡 Did you know? Nicholas I pretended to sponsor Pushkin: in reality the poet was under constant surveillance.

The Queen of Spades

Three, seven, ace: the officer Hermann falls prey to the card secret; Tchaikovsky made an opera of this too.

💡 Did you know? „The Queen of Spades“ too became a Tchaikovsky opera: Pushkin's tales deeply shaped Russian music.

Moscow

He was educated at the lyceum of Tsarskoye Selo near St Petersburg: where his poetic fame began.

💡 Did you know? Pushkin is regarded as the founder of the modern Russian literary language: he made Russian fit for literature.

37

Tens of thousands streamed to the lying-in-state: fearing unrest, the authorities moved the burial secretly to the countryside.

💡 Did you know? Before the fatal duel, Pushkin had faced around two dozen duel challenges.

Alexander Pushkin

Alexander Pushkin (1799 to 1837) is regarded as Russia's national poet and the founder of modern Russian literature. His verse novel „Eugene Onegin“ is a cornerstone of Russian culture.

💡 Did you know? Pushkin's great-grandfather was an African brought to Russia who rose to general at the tsar's court; a heritage the poet was always proud of.