Poet · 1799 – 1837

Alexander Pushkin

Little-Known Facts

  • His great-grandfather was an African brought to Russia who rose to become a noble and general under Peter the Great.
  • Many of his works became the basis for famous Russian operas.

Myths & Misconceptions

Why is Pushkin less famous in the West than Tolstoy or Dostoevsky?

Much of his genius lies in his poetry, which is extremely hard to translate; in Russian, he is considered the greatest of them all.