Pushkin

Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (1799–1837) was a Russian poet, novelist, and playwright who is widely regarded as the founder of modern Russian literature. Born in Moscow to a noble family, he studied at the Imperial Lyceum in Tsarskoye Selo, where he began composing poetry that blended classical form with Russian speech and folklore.

Pushkin’s output spanned lyric poetry, narrative verse, drama, and prose. His early works embraced Russian folklore, and Ruslan and Ludmila (1820) established a blend of fairy-tale charm with refined language. The novel in verse Eugene Onegin (completed 1832) became a landmark of Russian literature, noted for its ironic social critique and psychological depth. He also wrote the historical tragedy Boris Godunov (1825), the narrative poems The Bronze Horseman (1833) about St. Petersburg, and notable short stories such as The Queen of Spades and The Captain’s Daughter.

His writing helped to standardize and modernize the Russian literary language, balancing Romantic sensibility with elements of everyday speech. Themes across his work include love, personal freedom, social order, and national identity, and his stylistic innovations influenced generations of writers.

Pushkin’s life was cut short by a duel in Saint Petersburg in 1837, at age 37. His legacy has made him a central figure in Russian culture, with his works taught widely in schools and celebrated for shaping the trajectory of Russian literature.