On the 6th of June in 1799, Moscow, Russia became the birthplace of the Father of Modern Russian Literature, Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin. Born into an, aristocratic family, his father was Sergei Pushkin and his mother was Nadezhda Pushkin. Through his father's lineage, Pushkin can be traced to old Russian nobility while on his mother's side, Pushkin is in fact part Ethiopian. Nadezhda Pushkina is the great grand-daughter of Ibrahim Gannibal, the favourite Ethiopian court servant of Czar Peter the First.
Despite being born into nobility, at the time of his childhood, his family fell down from prosperity and as a result Pushkin as a child endured a unpleasant father who a tendency to be overpowering and irritable and a mother who was very neglecting in the pursuit of her own desires and wants. As a result of all this, Pushkin (the eldest) and his siblings, Mary, Olga, and Lev were raised primarily by their grandmother, Mary Cannibal and various other foreign teachers. The story telling from his grandmother would later influence Pushkin himself into writing in the folk/fairy tale genre. Indeed, his grandmother would not only be the source of inspiration in his childhood, for at that time his father, also a poet, entertained and housed many notable Russian literary figures such as N.M. Karamzin, I.I. Dmitriev, V.A. Zhukovskii, and K.N. Batyushkov. Finally, the third most significant portion of his childhood that later influenced his writing was his father reading to him in the library Molier (a French author) in french. As a result of this exposure, Pushkin as a 9 year old boy rewrote and changed Molier's "Pohititel" and "Toliada". This characteristic would dictate his future life as a prolific and avid writer.
The next stage of Pushkin's life was when he enrolled into the Lyceum Academy in Tsarskoye Selo at the age of 12 in 1811. For the next 6 years, Pushkin would be educated at one of the most distinguished schools where he underwent rigorous training of the Humanities. It was there where Pushkin wrote "Memoirs in Tsarskoye Selo" in 1815.
After his school years Pushkin associated himself with the educated bourgeouis youth and often wrote poems and satires that some way or other confronted the Czar and his court. In fact, he performed and read aloud at so called "gatherings" publicly. As a result of this conspicuous behavior, Pushkin was sent out of Moscow and St. Petersburg to Kishinev to serve General Major I.N. Smirnov. Pushkin traveled much and spent his last year of "penal servitude" in Odessa where he would write his most prominent work, "Eugene Onegin". It is here in Odessa where Pushkin's style morphed into themes of intimate feelings, philosophical thoughts, political realism, and misconceptions of the past.
After the success of his writings written in Odessa, Pushkin became an immediate celebrity of Russia, where many sought after his work. Realizing a future in this path, Pushkin continued to travel to multiple places and develope his writing.
In 1831 Pushkin married Nathalie Goncharova and togethor they had 3 children. However, their marriage was not a success for neither was happy. Goncharova had many suitors and wooers even after she was wed. Pushkin did not mind this much until a man named Georges D'Anthes went too far and dishonored Pushkin. Pushkin challenged D'Anthes to a duel and unfortunately, Russia's greatest poet died far too soon and left far too little of his masterpieces for the world. He died on February 10th in 1837 at the age of 37.
The following is a list of the publications of Pushkin in chronological order according to genre:
NARRATIVE POEMS
"Ruslan and Lyudmila" - 1820
"The Prisoner of the Caucasus" - 1820-21
"The Gabrieliad" - 1821
"The Robber Brothers" - 1821-22
"The Fountain of Bakhchisaray" - 1823
"The Gypsies" - 1824
"Count Nulin" - 1825
"Poltava" - 1829
"The Little House in Kolomna" - 1830
"Angelo" - 1833
"The Bronze Horseman" - 1833
VERSE NOVEL
"Eugene Onegin" - 1825-32
DRAMA
"Boris Godunov" - 1825
"The Little Tragedies" - 1830
"The Stone Guest" - 1830
"Mozart and Salieri" - 1830
"The Miserly Knight" - 1830
"A Feast in Time of Plague" - 1830
PROSE
"The Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin" - 1831
"The Shot" - 1831
"The Blizzard" - 1831
"The Undertaker" - 1831
"The Stationmaster" - 1831
"The Squire's Daughter" - 1831
"The Queen of Spades" - 1834
"Kirdzhali" - 1834
"A History of Pugachev" - 1834
"The Captain's Daughter" - 1836
"A Journey to Arzrum" - 1836
"Roslavlev" - 1836
"Peter the Great's Negro" - 1837
"The Story of the Village of Goryukhino" - 1837
"Egyptian Nights" - 1837
"Dubrovsky" - 1841
FAIRY TALES IN VERSE
"The Tale of the Priest and of His Workamn Balda" - 1830
"The Tale of the Female Bear" - 1830
"The Tale of Tsar Saltan" - 1831
"The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish" - 1833
"The Tale of the Dead Princess" - 1833
"The Tale of the Golden Cockerel" - 1834
Upon my research of Alexander Sergeyevich, I was shocked to find so many sources claiming that he was undoubtedly Russia's greatest poet. Another thing that also surprised me was his lineage and how he was part Ethiopian. At that time, such a racial mix must have been quite rare and I suppose that that must have particularily influenced him in many ways. I guess the greatest impression of him that I get is that his works must have somehow, to achieve such a great title, touched upon something fundamental that could link all people togethor.
Websites:
http://www.biography.com/people/alexander-sergeyevich-pushkin-9448737
http://www.pushkin-town.net/.pushkin/eng/asbiogr.htm
http://www.notablebiographies.com/Pe-Pu/Pushkin-Aleksandr.html
