Alexander Pushkin: Museum Estate

There is a corner in Pskov Region that warms the heart of every visitor. This is the famous Mikhaylovskoye Estate, a place inseparably connected with the life and work of the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. Everything here speaks of the poet's talent.

The museum and nature preserve, set up in 1922, incorporates the memorial estate at Mikhaylovskoye, the Svyatogorsk Monastery, the poet's grave, the home of the Hannibals at Petrovskoye and the home of the Osipovs-Wolfs at Trigorskoye. Pushkin's love for the estate lasted a life-time and was reflected in poetry from his early verses to the profound work he created shortly before his death.

Pushkin's great grandfather, Abram Hannibal, was presented with several estates in Pskov Region by Empress Elizabeth, daughter of Peter the Great, in January 1742 in recognition of loyal service to Russia. After his death the land was divided among his three sons. One of them, the poet's grandfather, Osip Abramovich, received Mikhaylovskoye. On retiring he spent the last years of his life on the estate, almost never leaving it. He built a house and related buildings for his family and laid out a park.

The poet's mother, Nadezhda Osipovna, came into possession of the estate in 1818. In the years that followed she often came here in summer, bringing along the family. At the end of the summer of 1824 the Pushkins welcomed in Mikhaylovskoye their elder son, Alexander, who had been sent from Odessa by the authorities to serve a term of exile in the "remote northern province".

The following year, in June, Pushkin wrote from exile to a friend of his, Pyotr Vyazemsky: "I've undertaken a literary endeavour that will make you embrace me — a romantic tragedy!" These words referred to his work on Boris Goclunov but could well describe the entire period of work at Mikhaylovskoye. What Pushkin wrote here made him a truly national poet and the father of a new, realistic literature and literary Russian.

At Mikhaylovskoye Pushkin produced over one hundred items of poetry and prose. His contacts with the peasants and Nature, his in-depth study of folk poetry, and his detailed knowledge of the life of both landed gentry and peasants, all helped him to find new poetical images, themes and plots.

During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 the Nazi invaders demolished the estate, robbed the museum, and felled hundreds of trees in the parks. After the war every effort was made to breathe new life into the Pushkin Museum and Nature Preserve. By the 150th anniversary of the poet's birth in 1949, it had been largely restored, and the revived Pushkin Memorial Estate opened its doors to the public.

Every first Sunday of June since 1967 Mikhaylovskoye has hosted the Pushkin Poetry Festival, widely known both in this country and abroad. Hundreds of thousands of Pushkin's devotees come here every year to visit with the great poet and enjoy the parks and museums. Wandering in the nature preserve and discovering the charm of its woods, you begin to feel you might even meet Pushkin himself. All who visit this spot and learn how much Pushkin loved it acquire a new insight into the poet's work.

Since the 19th century the history of the Svyatogorsk Monastery of the Assumption has been inseparably linked with Pushkin's name. Founded in 1569 by order of Ivan the Terrible, the monastery ranked among the most revered abodes in Russia. Among the numerous gifts from tsars and dignitaries the monastery had a bell presented by Ivan the Terrible and an edition of the New Testament, a gift of Tsar Michael (Mikhail Fyodorovich Romanov).

On the monastery grounds you find the family cemetery of the Hannibals and Pushkins with the graves of Pushkin's grandfather Osip Abramovich Hannibal (1806), grandmother Maria Alekseyevna (1818), mother Nadezhda Osipovna (1836) and father Sergey Lvovich (1848).

When Pushkin lived in Mikhaylovskoye, he would visit the monastery to pay his respects to the graves of his ancestors. Working on Boris Godunov, he used the monastery archives and library in an effort to depict the characters with the utmost historical veracity. Here, in the chronicles, he found an entry about the participation of the monastery's first Father Superior, Zosima, in the Assembly of 1598, which chose Boris Godunov to be Tsar of Russia.

In Pushkin's time the monastery was famous for its grand-scale fairs, timed to coincide with major religious holidays. Pushkin enjoyed these fairs, where he could listen to the vivid metaphors that ordinary folk used in speaking and jot down the most typical and exciting. The fairs, the life of the monastery's dwellers and guests, conversations with folk philosophers, and stories told by pilgrims about events long past were all reflected in the characters of Boris Godunov.

The Svyatogorsk Monastery was Pushkin's last sanctuary on earth. On February 6 (February 18, New Style), 1837, following a memorial service the poet's body was laid to rest alongside the altar wall. Four years later a marble monument was erected on the grave as Pushkin's widow had requested. The inscription says: "Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin, born Moscow, May 26, 1799, died St. Petersburg, January 29, 1837."

World War II brought ruination to the Svyatogorsk Monastery. Many of its buildings were badly damaged, and the Cathedral of St. Nicholas and home of Father Superior were razed to the ground. The Cathedral was restored in 1949, for the poet's 150th birth anniversary. An exposition opened in the same year, tracing the history of the monastery and the work of the poet and describing the duel and his death and burial.

In 1992 the Svyatogorsk Monastery of the Assumption was returned to the Pskov Eparchy, and the Cathedral of the Assumption renewed services.