The history of the life and death of the Russian poet A.S. Pushkin is generally known to every Russian. The writer’s memory is immortalized in many places, where he lived, studied, stayed. The place of Pushkin’s duel, where there is a memorial, was not ignored. We will tell you how it looks and where this monument is located.
Poet Pushkin
Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin is a great Russian poet. It is difficult to overestimate its significance for Russian culture. He was a brilliant poet and is, in fact, the creator of the modern Russian language and new versification. He did for Russia what Dante did for Italy. Before them, national poetry was built according to different rules, and nations spoke other languages. In Russia, before Pushkin, the aristocracy had French as the language of communication, while the people spoke the common form of the Russian language. Pushkin created a new example of the Russian literary language. That is why the phrase “Pushkin is our everything” is absolutely true. If not for him, today we would be a different people, since language is a means to form a mentality. The years of Pushkin's life are 1799-1837, his birthplace is Moscow, and his death place is St. Petersburg. He died from a wound that he received in a duel.
Background duel
Despite the fact that the duel of Pushkin and Dantes, the place of which you will learn a little later, occurred 180 years ago, researchers are still trying to find out the details of this whole story. Its beginning dates back to 1835, when Pushkin's wife, Natalya Nikolaevna, was introduced to the young, brilliant officer Georges Charles Dantes. This man began, without hiding, to look after the beauty Natalie. Secular gossip immediately concluded that she favorably accepts the attention of a prominent blond. These conversations quickly reached the ears of Pushkin. He was infinitely jealous, and he did not even need a reason to suspect the beautiful wife of infidelity. And when an occasion appeared, albeit a dubious one, he became furious. Moreover, Natalie’s guilt was never established, but rumors and ridicule plagued the poet, wounded his aggravated pride. The critical point in history was Pushkin’s receipt of a dirty libel in which he was awarded the title of cuckold. The poet decided that the author of the letter was Dantes and was not slow to challenge him to a duel. However, the officer denied his guilt, in addition, he made an offer to the sister of Pushkin's wife. The poet pacified his hatred and withdrew the challenge, all this happened in the autumn of 1836. But the conflict was not settled, the gossips continued to poison Pushkin, hinting that Dantes’s relationship with Natalie was continuing. The poet wrote an insulting letter to the patron and adoptive father of the officer, Baron Hekkern. Dantes was forced through a secretary to send Pushkin a challenge to a duel, and in the shortest possible time.
How was it
It must be remembered that duels in Russia at that time were strictly forbidden, the death penalty was waiting for them. Therefore, fights were held in conditions of incredible secrecy. Seconds were looking for a place for a deadly meeting away from prying eyes. For the fight, an open area was needed, which can be reached by carriage. So it was chosen the place of Pushkin's duel on the Black River, not far from the Commandant's dacha. The conditions set by the offended party were very cruel. One of the participants must have been injured. The maximum distance between duelists was set at 20 steps, then they began to converge. Dantes shot first and hit the poet’s stomach. Pushkin fell, lost consciousness for a short time, but then came to his senses and asked to replace the gun. The barrel of his gun was clogged with snow. Dantes returned to his original position, and Pushkin fired his shot, hitting the enemy in the chest.
Where it was: the place of Pushkin's duel
The seconds were looking for a secluded place to fight. Everything was carried out very secretively and quickly. No one should have known where the shoot-out would take place so that they would not be reported to the police. The place of the Pushkin duel was supposed to be relatively close to Petersburg, but not on the road. Sledges should have easily passed here, since the doctor and duelists could not be brought on horseback. Moreover, the time was winter, and it was not possible to drive along all roads. Finally, the seconds stopped at a small forest on the left bank of the Black River. No one, not even Pushkin and Dantes, knew where the meeting would be held. Each second brought his side to the forest, and they went to look for a convenient site. Later, historians had a lot of trouble, because according to the memoirs, the exact place was not easy to find. And only the drawings and records of eyewitnesses, in comparison with the real terrain, later established the exact place of the Pushkin duel.
How it all ended
Sled with the wounded, having left the place of Pushkin's duel, whose address today is considered to be precisely established, we went to the Commandant's dacha, where Baron Haeckern sent a carriage. Alexander Sergeyevich was transferred to a carriage and rushed to Petersburg, as everyone understood that he was very seriously injured. In house 12 on the Moika embankment, he lay delirious for two days and passed away. He was only 37 years old. Until the last minute, several doctors fought for his life, his family and friends were nearby. Understanding that the situation was very serious, Pushkin put his affairs in order before the duel, gave the necessary orders and wrote to the Tsar a request for clemency of Dantes. The king, upon learning of the death of the poet, ordered to pay all his debts and grant a pension to the widow, give one-time help to the family and arrange sons for service. Georges Dantes, due to his foreign citizenship, was expelled from Russia, depriving all Russian regalia.
How to get to the memorial
Where the poet received a deadly bullet, in 1887 they gathered to erect a monument, but then this did not happen. In 1890, a brick pedestal with a plaster bust was installed here. But the place around was not equipped at all. Only in 1937, a century from that tragic date, a monument was erected that designated the place of the Pushkin duel. How to get here today? You can get to the metro station "Chernaya Rechka" or the station "Pionerskaya" and walk on signs for about a kilometer. The memorial is a granite obelisk with a bronze bas-relief-portrait created by the sculptor M. Manizer.