Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin

Born in Moscow in 1799, Pushkin grew up in a noble family and began writing young. He studied at the Imperial Lyceum at Tsarskoye Selo, where his talent was recognized early, and he published poetry while still a student.

As a writer, he moved easily between poetry, drama, and prose. His major works include Eugene Onegin, Boris Godunov, and The Captain's Daughter, and he is often praised not just for great stories, but for transforming literary Russian by blending elegance, clarity, and everyday speech.

Pushkin's life was marked by government surveillance, periods of exile, and a famously intense public reputation. He died in St. Petersburg in 1837 after a duel, but his influence on later Russian writers and on Russian culture as a whole has been enormous.