Alexander Sergeyevich
Pushkin
Alexander Pushkin was born in 1799, and although his life was short, he is revered as the most famous of all Russian poets. He was shot and killed in a duel in 1837 in defense of his wife’s honor. He is the artist who is credited with changing the Russian language from a religious based language to a literary language. Each year, Russians gather in Pushkin square in Moscow to recite Pushkin, their tributes to Pushkin and their own poetry. Pushkin published his first works at age 15 while still in school and also began to write about his African ancestry (he was of mixed descent)in 1828 but never finished this work. Although known best as a poet, he wrote a famous novel called “The Captain’s Daughter” , a novella called “The Queen of Spades”, and the most famous of his short stories, “ The Stationmaster”. In Moscow, Pushkin Square, just a short walk from Red Square, is the site of the first McDonalds in Russia, and is a popular stop for Russians and visitors walking on the inner boulevard ring of Moscow. Also, the Pushkin museum is perhaps the most interesting art museum in Moscow for both Russians and visitors as it has a large collection of both international and Russian artists’ works. It is possible to find translated works of Pushkin and other Russian poets and writers, one of which is “Russian Stories” by Gleb Struve published by Dover.