Alexander Sergejevich Pushkin
(1799 - 1837)

 

  
       

Pushkin holds a place in Russian literature perhaps even larger than that of Shakespeare in English. He is the starting point for Russian literature and the Russian literary language as we know it today. Beloved of all Russians, Pushkin wrote lyric poetry, prose, and drama, founding the Russian literary tradition in practically every genre.

His great-grandfather, Abraham Hanibal, the son of an Ethiopian prince who had been offered to Peter the Great and became his protégé. Abraham Hanibal finished his career as commander-in-chief of the Imperial army.

self-portrait

 

  
       
   

 

Portrait, 1827

by Orest Kiprensky

 

    
         
   
 

 

"Pushkin in Tsarskoje Selo" by Ilja Repin, 1911

 

 
 

 

from Pushkin's poem "EUGENE ONEGIN" ------------ English translation

 

 

 

Tatiana, (to her heart's core a Russian,
Herself not knowing the reason why),
With all their cold and frigid beauty,
Loved Russian winters with great passion:
The sun-lit hoar-frost on frozen days,
Sledge rides, and from the sunset's glow
The rosy radiance on the snow;
The foggy nights of Epiphany,
Evenings which, by ancient rule,
They celebrated in the old time ways:
The servants from the house and yard
All told the fortunes of their mistresses,
Each year they gave them the blissful word:
An army husband and a trip abroad.

 

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