Alexander Pushkin

Alexander Pushkin was born into an impoverished noble family on June 6, 1799. In early childhood, he was a silent and inactive child - the elder sister Olga recalled that until the age of six the boy "was just a goof." Pushkin received his primary education at home. His upbringing was no different from the then generally accepted system in noble families: his parents hired tutors and teachers from France, Germany, England, and Russia.

Studying was difficult for Pushkin, and the 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 office,” his younger brother Leo later recalled.

The love of reading grew into attempts to create their own texts. Already at the age of seven, Pushkin was composing small comedies in French, imitating Molière. Later, after reading the works of Lafontaine, the young author wanted to write fables. And having familiarized himself with Voltaire's Henriade, Pushkin conceived a poem in six songs: all the books he read inspired the novice author.

In 1811, Pushkin's parents decided to send their son to the Jesuit Collegium, but their plans changed when a lyceum for noble children was opened in Tsarskoe Selo. Under the patronage of friends, the Pushkins placed their 12-year-old son in an elite institution. Initially, they were going to prepare children from the imperial family and their peers for the highest civil ranks. But the status of the Lyceum dropped: 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 Küchelbecker - remained Pushkin's lifelong friends.

Famous lawyer Alexander Kunitsyn, philosopher Alexander Galich, philologist Nikolai Koshansky taught at the Lyceum. It was professors who had the greatest influence on the intellectual and moral development of lyceum students - relatives could visit their children only on weekends. On weekdays, classes began at seven in the morning and continued until late in the evening. During the years of study, Alexander Pushkin perceived the alma mater as a "monastery" and dreamed of the freedom that would come with the end of the Lyceum.

The first major success awaited Pushkin in 1815 during the winter transfer exam - a 15-year-old lyceum student read his poem "Memories in Tsarskoye Selo". Gavriil Derzhavin was present at the exam, he was shocked by the creation of the young poet. Pushkin later wrote: “I don’t remember how I finished my reading; I don't remember where I ran. Derzhavin was in admiration; he demanded me, wanted to hug me… They searched for me, but they didn’t find me.”

In 1817 Alexander Pushkin graduated from the Lyceum. In academic achievement, he was 24th out of 29 graduates.At this time, his father handed over to Alexander his serf Nikita, who knew Sasha from the first days, became his true friend and went with him almost the entire life path until the last day, except for the year of Mikhailovsky exile.

Pushkin was sent to the Collegium of Foreign Affairs as an official of the 10th class. But there he was only listed: the public service did not attract the young man much. After six years of study, Pushkin plunged headlong into the secular life of the capital and, as a well-known and honored author, got into the society of St. Petersburg writers. While still at the Lyceum, he became a member of the Arzamas literary circle, which fought against archaic linguistic traditions.

In 1819, Pushkin joined the literary and theatrical society "Green Lamp" under the Decembrist Union of Welfare. Its participants promoted freedom-loving ideas. Poems were read at the meetings, theatrical premieres were discussed, and journalistic articles were criticized. There were not only secular disputes, 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".

In the spring of 1820, Alexander Pushkin went to Chisinau, to the office of the chief trustee of the colonists of the Southern Territory. On the way to a new place of service, the poet became very ill. To improve his health, Pushkin went first to the Caucasus, then to the Crimea. Traveling impressions from the south of the empire were later reflected in some of his works. Finally, in September 1820, Pushkin arrived in Chisinau.

The new chief, Lieutenant General Ivan Inzov, treated the service of his subordinate condescendingly and did not entrust him with any official affairs. Pushkin disposed of his time as he wanted: he communicated with members of the Union of Welfare, joined the Ovid Masonic lodge. In his free time, he continued to write. During this period, the “Prisoner of the Caucasus”, “Gavriiliada”, “Brothers-Robbers”, “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai”, “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 appear in St. Petersburg - "Ruslan and Lyudmila", "Prisoner of the Caucasus", "The Fountain of Bakhchisaray". Pushkin's professional career began with them: he was the first of the writers in Russia to earn money by 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 the fact that Pushkin asked for his resignation.

Meanwhile, in Moscow in 1824, the police opened Pushkin's letter: he wrote to Kuchelbecker about his passion for "atheistic teachings." For such statements, the poet was threatened not just with resignation. Pushkin was sent into real exile to a family estate in the village of Mikhailovsky, Pskov province - the South was still passed off as a forced business trip. The writer was deprived of a modest salary, supervision was established, and the end of the sentence was not indicated in any way.