Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era, is widely regarded as the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature. Born into Russian nobility in Moscow in 1799, Pushkin's maternal great-grandfather was the Central-African-born general Abram Petrovich Gannibal. At the tender age of 15, Pushkin published his first poem, and by the time he graduated from the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, he was already widely recognized by the literary establishment.
However, Pushkin's graduation was also marked by controversy, as he recited his poem 'Ode to Liberty', which led to his exile by Tsar Alexander I. During his exile, Pushkin was under the strict surveillance of the Tsar's political police, yet he managed to write his most famous play, the drama 'Boris Godunov'. In 1820, Pushkin published his first long poem, 'Ruslan and Ludmila', which sparked controversy due to its subject and style.
Pushkin's novel in verse, 'Eugene Onegin', was serialized between 1825 and 1832. Critics consider many of his works masterpieces, including the poem 'The Bronze Horseman' and the drama 'The Stone Guest', a tale of the fall of Don Juan. His poetic short drama 'Mozart and Salieri' served as the inspiration for Peter Shaffer's 'Amadeus' and provided the libretto for Rimsky-Korsakov's opera 'Mozart and Salieri'.
In addition to his poetic and dramatic works, Pushkin is also known for his short stories. His cycle 'The Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin' includes the stories 'The Shot' and 'The Stationmaster', and 'The Queen of Spades', a story frequently anthologized in English translation.
