7 facts about Pushkin that cannot be found in school textbooks

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The "sun of Russian poetry" had a very eventful life and a wide variety of hobbies.

From the school curriculum, everyone knows that Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was a descendant of an Ethiopian slave, was married to Natalia Goncharova, fought in duels, and lived a short but eventful life. However, there are also little-known facts from the life of the main Russian poet. Lifehacker has collected several of them.

1. The future poet got to the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum by pull

Alexander Sergeevich received a good education. In terms of elitism, the Imperial Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, in which he studied, will bypass the most expensive private schools of our time. It was an educational institution, from which, according to the plan of the creators, the main persons of the empire were to leave.

The first set, which Alexander got into, consisted of only 30 boys. Without patronage, the offspring of the modest (by the standards of that time) Pushkin family could not have been among them.

Mikhailova N. I. Vasily Lvovich Pushkin played a significant role when Alexander entered the Lyceum. - M. 2012 his uncle - Vasily Lvovich Pushkin. Veresaev V. V. Pushkin in life became decisive. Companions of Pushkin. - M. 2011 acquaintance of this person with the official Alexander Ivanovich Turgenev.

It is worth noting that both the father of the future poet, Sergei Lvovich, and his uncle, who fought about the education of his nephew, were not deprived of literary talent. And if Sergei was just a lover of versification, then Vasily was considered a famous poet. There is an opinion of Mikhailov N. I. Vasily Lvovich Pushkin. - M. 2012, that it was his uncle who introduced young Pushkin to reading contemporary literature.

Pushkin did not differ in particular academic performance. Tyrkova-Williams A.: Pushkin's Life. Volume 1.1799-1824. - M. 2004. At the final exams, he showed the 26th result out of 29. Among his fellow students, Alexander stood out for success in only three subjects: Russian and French, as well as fencing.

But you need to understand that even such "modest" educational achievements made Pushkin one of the most educated people of his time. So, the end of the lyceum provided for passing 15 exams in 17 days, and the subjects included several languages, history, law, mathematics, physics and geography. In addition to Russian and French, the poet knew English, German, Spanish, Italian, Greek and Latin, and studied Slavic dialects. And his personal library consisted of more than 3,500 books, which were mostly foreign.

2. Alexander Sergeevich was very loving

It is known that Pushkin was greedy for women and even kept track of his hobbies. In a letter to Vera Vyazemskaya, he wrote that Natalia Goncharova, his wife, was far from the first (and not even the tenth) in his "Don Juan list".

Pushkin's letter to V. F. Vyazemskaya end of April 1830. Source: “A. S. Pushkin. Complete works in 10 volumes"

My marriage to Natalie (this, I will note in parentheses, is my one hundred and thirteenth love) has been decided.

From a young age, the poet visited brothels. Here is how Alexander Turgenev wrote about him:

A. I. Turgenev's letter to P. A. Vyazemsky on December 18, 1818. Source: "Pushkin's Life", Ariadna Tyrkova-Williams

Cricket Nickname of Pushkin. - Approx. the author. jumping on the boulevard and on [prostitutes]. Is it too much for him to write comments on other people's poems: he barely has time to write his own. But with all his dissolute lifestyle, he ends the fourth song of the poem Speech about "Ruslan and Lyudmila". - Approx. the author. …

During his exile in Mikhailovsky, Pushkin had an affair with a serf peasant Olga Kalashnikova. Some Pushkin scholars consider Filin M. D. Olga Kalashnikova: "Serf love" of Pushkin. - M. 2013, that she gave birth to his son Paul, but the child died in infancy. Alexander gave Olga "free" - personal freedom.

The poet was also attracted by women from high society, including married ones. Natalia Kochubei, Ekaterina Bakunina, Evdokia Golitsyna, Aglaya Davydova, Karolina Sobanskaya, Amalia Riznich, Elizaveta Vorontsova, Anna Olenina - this is not a complete list of the ladies whom the poet was fond of.

3. Pushkin was the author of obscene poetry

The main Russian poet really wrote several obscene poems. Examples include such works as “The Shadow of Barkov Pushkin A. S. Shadow of Barkov. Erotica in Russian Literature: From Barkov to the Present Day. Texts and comments. Literary Review "," The Cart of Life "or" Orlov with Istomina in Bed. " Their publication, of course, was out of the question: and even in modern collected works they can not always be found.

Some poems did not provide strong expressions, but their content was still quite provocative. For example, “Someone had my Aglaya”.

However, one must understand that Pushkin turned to indecent vocabulary in search of new expressive means and such lines would never have been heard in public. In addition, obscene poetry constitutes a negligible part of the creative heritage of the "sun of Russian poetry."

4. The poet probably had complexes because of his appearance - in particular, because of his short stature

The growth of Pushkin, according to various sources, ranged from 161 to 167 centimeters. And his wife Natalya, as contemporaries testified, was noticeably taller than the poet. At balls and receptions Pushkin tried Vyazemsky P. A., Vyazemskaya V. F. Stories about Pushkin, written down by P. I. Bartenev. Pushkin in the memoirs of his contemporaries. SPb. 1998 to stay away from his wife, and sometimes they even came separately. Perhaps it was because of his height that Pushkin so often wore a top hat and high-heeled shoes - although, in principle, this was within the framework of the fashion of that time.

In general, Alexander Sergeevich felt rather uncomfortable accompanied by his wife, who was considered Tyrkov-Williams A. Pushkin's Life. Volume 2. 1824-1837. - M. 2004 one of the most beautiful women in Russia. Pushkin, in principle, from childhood was critical of GN Volkov. The world of Pushkin: Personality, worldview, environment M. 1989 to his appearance. He even once compared himself to a monkey.

5. Pushkin was a gambler and often lost

Like many people of that time, Alexander Sergeevich was Tyrkova-Williams A. Pushkin's Life. Volume 1.1799-1824. - M. 2004 a passionate lover of gambling. The poet was thrown into cards often and a lot, and even several challenges to a duel were associated with this addiction. But Pushkin did not play very well and periodically lost large sums.

Once the poet even lost to Tyrkov-Williams A. Pushkin's Life. Volume 2. 1824-1837. - M. 2004 not yet published chapter of "Eugene Onegin", but later was able to return it. And in 1829 he spent almost 25 thousand rubles in one evening. For comparison: a cow then cost 3 rubles. Because of this, being the owner of a fairly large estate, Pushkin did not get out of debt and even mortgaged his property.

After the death of Alexander Sergeevich, Emperor Nicholas I helped his wife, who paid for the funeral of the deceased, helped to buy out the pledged estate and pay off the family's debts, even allocated a pension to Natalia and the poet's children. The monarch paid off the gambling debts alone. The last year of Pushkin's life. Compiled by V. V. Kunin. - M. 1989 for 94 thousand rubles. The poet's works were also published at public expense, the proceeds from the sale of which also went to his family.

However, card losses could often motivate Pushkin to work on new works, so as not to stay aground. He knew how to create in an emergency mode and create the next composition in a few hours. So, for example, the poem "Count Nulin" was written in two mornings.

6. In the life of Pushkin there were many challenges to a duel, although not all of them took place

Everyone knows Pushkin as an implacable fighter for his honor and the good name of his wife. Contemporaries rightly called him a brute - a man who only does what he is looking for a reason for a fight. For the first time, Alexander Sergeevich challenged his opponent to a duel while still studying at the Lyceum. Moreover, it was his cousin uncle Pavel Isaakovich Hannibal.

It is reliably known that Pushkin had more than 20 challenges to a duel alone. Of these, in 15 cases the poet himself became the initiator. The reasons were pretty commonplace: arguments over women, creativity, wine and cards.

There were significantly fewer real fights - only four. In other cases, Pushkin's friends managed to reduce conflicts to reconciliation. In all the fights that took place, Alexander Sergeevich never fired first, and after the opponent missed, he sent a bullet into the air. Blood was shed only in his last duel with Georges Dantes.

At the same time, Pushkin regularly practiced with a pistol and was an excellent shooter. And the legendary cane worn by the poet was cast from metal and weighed several kilograms - Alexander Sergeevich used it to strengthen his hand and shoot more accurately. In a fatal duel with Dantes, already being mortally wounded in the stomach, Pushkin managed to hit his opponent. The latter managed to survive miraculously: the bullet pierced his arm and did not cause serious damage.

It is believed that Dantes survived only due to the fact that on that day a metal cuirass or chain mail was worn under his clothes. But there is no evidence of this Levkovich Ya. L. Dantes' Kolchuga. Legends and myths about Pushkin. - SPb. 1999.

7. Pushkin was a Freemason

In 1821, during his southern exile, Pushkin joined the Ovid Masonic lodge, the hallmark of which was a long nail on one of the fingers. In order not to break it off, Alexander Sergeevich wore a thimble on his right little finger.

An entry from a Chisinau diary. Source: “A. S. Pushkin. Complete works in 10 volumes"

On May 4, I was admitted to the Freemasons.

At the same time, the box itself was closed already on December 9, 1821. And in 1822, Emperor Alexander I banned S. Karpachev altogether. Secrets of Masonic Orders. - M. 2007 both the creation of new lodges and the activity of old ones.

Nevertheless, Pyotr Vyazemsky, according to the Masonic tradition, put a glove in the poet's coffin.

The fact that Pushkin was a Freemason is not unusual - in those days it was a kind of fashion. Many of the poet's contemporaries also included S. Karpachev. Secrets of the Masonic Orders. - M. 2007 to similar communities. Among them are Alexander Griboyedov, Alexander Benkendorf, Pyotr Chaadaev, Pavel Pestel. Masons were Mikhailova N. I. Vasily Lvovich Pushkin. - M. 2012 and Pushkin's uncle, Vasily Lvovich, and his father, Sergei Lvovich. The poet was even upset Bakunina T. A. Famous Russian Masons. - M. 1991, that his friends did not invite him to join the "free masons" from the St. Petersburg lodge "Astrea". However, according to the testimony of contemporaries, Alexander Sergeevich did not take a special part in the life of Masonic organizations, Masonry and Russian culture. Compiled by V. I. Novikov. - M. 1996.